


The Last Hero, Book 1: Ordona

by MeLoveMamimi



Series: The Legend of Zelda: The Last Hero [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-02-25 21:45:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 22
Words: 176,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13221858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeLoveMamimi/pseuds/MeLoveMamimi
Summary: A massive epic seeking to implement elements and characters from every game in the series. Many years after the events of Spirit Tracks, the Triforce and Master Sword have been discovered by deep-sea archaeologists and exhumed from the depths of the Great Sea, reinstating the endless cycle that is the reincarnation of the Hero, the Princess, and the Dark Lord on the new continent.





	1. Prologue

 

* * *

 _When two shadows_ ―

 _One of blood and one of birth_ ―

_Meet and die,_

_The truth will be revealed_

_And a legend will cease to exist_

* * *

_Drip… drip… drip…_

Water dripped from the ceiling. The stench of mold wafted from the cracks in the stone wall. Wet, rusty handcuffs cut into his wrists and ankles. His body hung against the cold wall, his scarred and bare feet inches from the floor. His stringy hair stuck to his face, and his bony ribs stuck out of his ragged clothes, held together by threads. He closed his eyes in the dark.

_"There is no light without darkness. There is no order without chaos. There is no good without evil. There is no truth without lies. There is only one truth, one ultimate truth. There is only one good, the ultimate good. There is only one order, the ultimate order, and there is only one light, the ultimate light."_

He turned his mantra over and around in his head. The dripping water was the only sound.

_Drip…drip…drip…_

_Boom…boom…boom…_

He felt the floor shake beneath his feet, and opened his eyes.

_Boom…boom…boom…_

He looked toward the ceiling.

"It's about time."

He closed his eyes again, dropped his head, and went back to his meditation. The room continued rumbling intermittently.

It was a long time before he spoke again. "…Good morning, Your Majesty," he muttered.

The iron door of the cell slowly swung open, flooding the room with light. He winced.

"Hello Link," she murmured and walked into the cell, holding a ring of keys.

"How have you been?" He asked, his voice raspy.

"Worried sick," she answered as she moved in front of him.

"You shouldn't have. I've never felt better."

"You look horrible." She inserted a key into one of the locks. "I wish you'd never asked for this."

"I'm fine, Your Highness. Honest I am."

She fiddled with the key, groaning as it refused to twist.

"This blasted lock! Work, damn you!"

"I missed you so much."

"Not now, Link! I'm trying to get this lock."

"You're using the wrong key."

Zelda pulled the key out and glared at it.

"You're right."

"Not that it matters. The springs in the lock are rusted shut. You won't get it open, even with the right key."

"How do you figure that? Did you get x-ray vision or something?" She peered into the lock's keyhole. When Link didn't answer, she looked away from the lock to him, and gasped.

"Link! Your eyes…when did you…?"

"Just because I'm in chains from head to toe doesn't mean I can't train."

"Then, you know why I'm here?"

"Even if I didn't, the rumbling of my cell would've told me."

"How quickly can you destroy him, Link?"

"As quickly as time will allow, Your Majesty."

"For goodness sake, Link. Just call me Zelda."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"If the keys won't work, how do we get you out?"

"The shackles on these cuffs are in pretty bad shape. You might be able to pry them open."

"Not with my bare hands, I can't. I'm not that strong."

Link closed his eyes tightly, then opened them wide. His irises glowed red.

"There's a crowbar in one of the empty cells. Two rooms down."

Zelda ran out of the cell without a word. She returned moments later with the bar in hand and set to work. The cuffs came apart instantly, and Link collapsed onto the floor.

"I hope you really are better than you look," Zelda whispered as she knelt down and lifted him by his shoulders. "Because you truly look awful."

"Trust me, My Princess. I'm stronger than ever."

She slung his arms over her shoulders and carried him out on her back. Despite his bony, starved frame, she struggled underneath his weight. The booming drew closer and louder.

_Boom…Boom…Boom…_

"Princess, put me down. I bet if I try, I could walk."

"Not unless you call me by my name."

He groaned and said finally, "…Zelda. Let me walk and gain back my strength."

She bent down, and Link slid off her back. His legs trembled under the weight.

"They treated you terribly in that cell."

"It doesn't matter."

"Look at you…You've lost so much weight."

"I've had worse."

"No you haven't! Link, we don't have time for this! Just let me help you!"

"Don't dote on me, Zelda. If you want to help me then lead me to the Master Sword."

Link wobbled up the stairs after Zelda, stopping every few minutes to catch his breath. They moved gradually up from the pits of the castle up to the tallest tower. When they finally arrived at the highest room, Zelda unlocked the door. Behind the door, the Master Sword rested in its pedestal, gleaming in the sunlight that shined through the only window in the room.

"C'mon, Fi," Link soothed as he stooped down to take the sword. "Time to get up."

As the sword slid out of the pedestal, Link felt his energy return. The dirt and oil from his body melted away, and his ragged clothes were replaced by the Hero's Tunic. His red eyes glowed and turned blue.

"Welcome back, Master," Fi greeted in her tuned voice as she flipped out of the sword's hilt. "Did you have a good rest?"

"I did, thanks for asking. How about you?"

"My year of hibernation has proved beneficial for my status. My readings indicate that my abilities are now at full capacity."

"You could just say 'yes,' you know."

"Furthermore, my readings also suggest a 92 percent chance that your prediction was correct; I am sensing the energy of the Imprisoned atrocity approaching Hyrule Castle."

_BOOM!…BOOM!…BOOM!_

"I highly recommend you commence the plan of action you put into place one year ago regarding Demise."

"How soon will it be here?"

"Approximately ten minutes, Master."

"Then there's not a moment to lose. Let's go!"

"The rest of your equipment is in that chest over there, Link."

Zelda pointed to a treasure chest in the corner of the room. Link went to open the chest, and as he did, he could feel his heart racing at the anticipation. He lifted a tiny bag no bigger than his open hand out of the chest and high in the air.

"I can affirmatively confirm that every piece of equipment received on the previous year's journey is stored safely within this satchel, Master."

Link reached deep into the magic sac, shoving his entire arm inside, until he found what he was searching for. With a hard tug, he lifted out Roc's Cape, then the Pegasus Boots, and finally, two clawshots. He closed the sac and tied it to his waist belt, threw the cape around his shoulders, strapped on the boots, and grasped a clawshot in each hand.

"Good luck, Link."

"I've never needed luck before, and I don't need it now…"

Link turned around and saw the dread on her face.

"…But thank you."

He took a step toward the window.

"Link! Wait!"

Before Link could object, Zelda ran up to him, wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders, and sobbed into his chest.

"I'm sorry! I couldn't do anything! I'm so sorry!"

"Zelda…"

"No! I don't care! I tried so hard, but I couldn't do it! It wasn't me, it was never me! It was―"

Link took up Zelda's chin by his thumb and fore finger.

"Zelda, listen to me. I promise we'll talk later, but you know now is not the time."

Zelda hiccuped and rubbed her eyes with her gloves. After a hard, deep breath, she said, "I'll be there with the Sages to help as soon as I can."

"Good."

He kissed her forehead.

"It didn't turn out the way we wanted, but that's okay. I figured it out."

"Figured what out?"

Link smiled, pulled the trigger of his clawshot and zipped out the window. With Roc's Cape, he glided easily through the air and down to the ground below where he took off running with the boots.

Zelda watched him leave until he was out of sight, then knelt down in the middle of the room and clasped her hands together.

"Oh Sages, ancient creators of Hyrule, please heed us in our hour of need…"

* * *

The giant beast of hardened, blood-tipped scales stomped about on its bloated toes in the fields outside of Hyrule city. Its long arms swung across the ground, knocking away the soldiers jabbing at it with their swords.

"What is this thing anyway?!" One of the soldiers cried out. "What does it want?!"

Impa raced past the soldiers, under its massive arms, and threw a metal star at one of the monster's toes, but it bounced off. She was thrown aside by the energy radiating from the Imprisoned's foot.

"Can't we get close enough to this thing to kill it?!" She cried out.

"We can't get under its arms without it sweeping us out of its way!" Sir Raven, one of the soldiers called back. "And we can't get close enough to its feet without getting electrified!"

Link zipped past everyone on his Pegasus Boots, unsheathed the Master Sword, whipped under the Imprisoned, and took out all of its toes on one foot in a Spin Attack. The monster screamed in agony, but continued to hobble toward the city.

"You sure took your time getting here," replied Impa. "Welcome back."

"What can I say? I was waiting for the right moment. Is Groose around?"

"I haven't seen that knucklehead since this beast appeared."

"Hey!" A voice shouted down at them. "That knucklehead is right up here, waiting for the command!"

Groose, in the armor of the Hyrulian Knights, stood atop the outer castle walls of Hyrule City beside his mechanical catapult, the Groosenator.

"Think you can knock this overgrown piranha into that pit we made?" Link called back.

"Just say the word!" Groose answered while patting the catapult affectionately. "This baby's ready for action!"

"Don't fire until my signal. Everyone else, get back!"

The remaining soldiers, weary from their ineffective attempts to slow the beast, complied eagerly.

"Get ready, Groose!"

Link held out the Master Sword to his side, gripping the hilt tightly and focusing his energy.

"Now!"

Groose fired a bomb. Link swung his sword and executed a Great Hurricane. He spun in a 1800 degree whirl, and the Master Sword sliced away at the Imprisoned's remaining toes and deep into its feet, leaving deep cuts in its stumpy legs.

The Imprisoned screamed and wailed as it stumbled about. The catapulted bomb hit the monster in its face, and it tumbled down into the deep, nearby pit.

"Yeah!" Groose cheered, jumping up and down in the air. "Perfect shot!"

Link waited at the edge of the pit, stooped down, and watched the monster writhe in pain.

"What are you waiting for, Link?" Sir Raven demanded. "Aren't you going to destroy him?"

"Just a sec," he answered. "I'm waiting for a friend."

"I thought I heard the call of our demented Demise."

A woman of turquoise skin and orange eyes, dressed in a black cloak, materialized behind Link.

"Right on time," Link grinned.

"You know I abhor tardiness."

"Did you bring it, Midna?"

"Of course I brought it. Keeping the Fierce Deity Mask safe is nothing compared to watching over the Fused Shadows."

She held up her hand, and the mask of white hair and pale skin appeared. She sighed, "Finally we can put an end to this mess."

"Are you kidding?" He laughed as he donned the mask, taking his demonic form. He leapt down into the pit.

_"We're just getting started."_


	2. Ordona 1: Lon Lon Ranch

**9 YEARS AGO…**

* * *

A new day dawned on Lon Lon Ranch in the Ordona Province. The sun rose up and out of the trees, casting bright tints of blue and orange in the sky. A soft breeze drifted across the dewy grass. In the trees surrounding the meadow, bluebirds rattled their stiff feathers and began their morning song. Chicks chirped hungrily in the nest and opened their gaping mouths.

The ranch has a stable, a barn, a dirt race track, a pasture, and a grain silo.

The wooden stable laid at the south corner of the ranch, by the main gate. Built in the style of a log cabin, years of rain and wind had done little to deteriorate its roofing, structure, or support. It would prove a good home to the horses for many years. The race track was north of the stable, with an obstacle course of wooden barrels and fence posts inside the ring.

East of the stable was the barn, built in the same style, where four cows and two calves slept. Thieves trespassed lately in the night and attempted to make off with the cows, so the barn was equipped with brand new locks. No one was allowed in or out of the barn without making sure to lock the doors behind them. Appreciating the new locks a little too much, the proprietor decided to continue renovating; the shabby barn was outfitted with new frames, base boards, rafters, stocks, and shelves. It too would prove a worthy home for the animals for many years.

In front of the barn and stable, and on either side of the race track was a modest pasture Its grass was dyed green with clover and tall fescue. The grain silo rose out on the north side of the race track. The ranch had no wheat to store, so the silo was equipped as a birthing station.

On the west side of the ranch stood a small country home, built slavishly. It was more a home to the cuccos; on the first floor, fifteen cuccos, seven chicks, and one rooster roosted on the rafters at night, and during the day when they weren't in the pasture with the cows, they scurried about on the floor looking for things to peck at.

The second floor was decorated with few ornaments or personal belongings. There were two bedrooms, two beds each, and a living room with a table, chairs, a sink, a freezer, a stove, and a toilet separated by a room divider.

All but one of the beds were empty.

A girl with red hair, tanned skin and freckles, and a little over four feet tall, threw on an oversized dress and a pair of mud-caked boots. She took up a large basket on her arm, and headed for the door. Before leaving, she cast a quick glance at the other bed. Sounds of sleep gurgled from underneath the covers. She giggled and closed the door softly behind her.

She walked into the main room and looked into the small mirror placed above the sink. She combed her fingers through her hair, then tiptoed downstairs where the cuccos stirred and occasionally cooed. At the sight of the girl, they bounced toward her and clucked loudly. The rooster crowed loudly.

"Relax, guys. I haven't forgotten how to feed you."

Malon went over to the barrel sitting on the far side of the room, and opened its lid. The inside was filled three quarters of the way with feed, and a hand scoop rested on top. She stood on the tips of her toes and reached inside for the scoop, pulling out as much feed as it would hold.

"Come and get it!" she exclaimed.

The cuccos huddled around Malon, surrounding her in a fury of feathery madness. To save herself from being engulfed, Malon quickly cast the feed, and the cuccos quickly left her and crowded around the pile of food.

"Good grief, you'd think we starved you guys."

She shook her head and walked over to the roosts and checked them. Out of fifteen, eleven held warm eggs.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." She took the eggs from each roost and put them one by one in her basket, then went upstairs. In the main room, she opened the freezer and put the eggs in an egg crate inside. When she headed back downstairs, the feed was gone and the cuccos were gathered at the door.

"Move, will ya? I can't let you out if I can't get to the door."

Malon pushed a few cuccos out of the way with her boot, then reached for the handle, but found the door was unlocked.

"I guess Uncle Ingo's already awake," she said to herself as she pushed the door open.

The cuccos scrambled outside frantically and raced for the pasture. The rooster lead the way as the fuzzy chicks scrambled after him. One cucco straggled behind nervously, so Malon kicked it and sent it flying a short ways. It gave a loud squawk, went sprawling, and took off after the others.

"That's right! Git! And don't come back until it's time for dinner!"

Closing the door behind and walking into the quickly rising sun, Malon outstretched her arms and yawned. She watched the cuccos run for the pasture, and saw all but one of the horses let out.

With basket in hand, she headed for the barn and unlocked the doors. Inside the barn, against one side of the wall were hanging shelves that held everything from large brushes to syringes and bottles filled with medicines. Next to the shelves sat several empty buckets in a pile, along with three stools. On the other side of the wall, and next to the barn doors, was a trough filled with hot water that buoyed two used buckets. Beside the trough was a huge glass tank, filled with milk and lit by a fire underneath that pasteurized the milk. A nozzle jetted out of the tank, and several empty bottles, all displaying the Lon Lon Ranch logo on their labels, sat below the nozzle ready to be filled. On the other side of the tank were empty crates for the bottles. Hay bales, troughs, and six stalls furnished in hay filled the rest of the barn.

Malon walked inside and saw a rough-looking man, in overalls and a green shirt, milking one of the cows. Two other cows waited by the barn door.

"Good morning, Uncle Ingo," Malon said, and he grumbled something that sounded like 'mornin'.'

"Have all the cows been milked?" She asked quietly.

"I just finished those last two," Ingo said gruffly without looking up from his work.

"I'll take the last one then," Malon replied. She moved awkwardly to the wall where the empty buckets sat. She placed her basket next to these and took one of the buckets, then passed to the last stall where one cow fidgeted, pushing lightly at her gate.

"Now now, girl. Malon's gonna take good care of you." She pulled the latch from the gate, took the cow by her rope, and led her back to the milking station. She grabbed a three-legged stool, carried it back to her cow, sat down, and investigated the cow's sack, and saw it was full to bursting. She quickly placed her bucket underneath the cow and pulled at its teats.

"…It looks like it'll be a bit chilly today," Malon muttered. "I wish spring would hurry."

"Are Talon and the boy still asleep?" Ingo interrogated, and she sighed.

"I didn't see Dad, but Link is still in bed."

He grumbled something under his breath and stood up. He picked up his filled buckets and dumped their contents into the heated tank. He threw the emptied buckets into the wash tub, then took a large broomstick and a new bucket, and briskly left the barn, leaving the door open behind him and his cow where she stood.

Malon watched him leave, then went back to milking her cow until the sack was emptied. She struggled to pick up the heavy milk bucket and carry it to the tank. Some milk sloshed over the sides and splashed onto the hay-ridden floor as she walked. She put the bucket on the ground next to the tank, then ran back to her cow and grabbed the stool. She ran back and placed in front of the tank. Picking up her bucket, Malon got up on the stool, stood on the tips of her toes, raised the bucket high above her head, and emptied the milk into the tank.

With her tall task complete, she threw her bucket into the washtub, then grabbed all the cows' ropes and led them out of the barn and into the pasture.

"Uncle Ingo could've at least taken a few out," she mumbled.

It didn't take long for the cows to find their favorite spots and start chewing their cud alongside the grazing horses and picking cuccos. Malon went back inside the barn and picked up her basket, locked the doors on her way out, and headed to the stable.

There were stalls for the horses, hay bales, and shelves with brushes, syringes, clips, hammers and nails, horseshoes, etc. Once inside, however, Malon found that all but one of the windows' shutters had been sealed. She peered inside and saw Ingo and her father squatting down next to a mare lying on bed of straw ground. The horse convulsed occasionally, amniotic fluid seeping from her vulva. At the sight, Malon dropped her basket.

"Dad, what's going on? Is she ready?" She took quick steps towards them.

"Don' worry, Malon," Talon looked up from the mare at Malon. "Ingo, brin' me the scissors, and a cloth please. Malon, go an' wake Link up. He's been waitin' for this, you know."

A big smile spread across Malon's face. She rushed out of the stable, back into the tiny house, up the stairs and into her room, and began jumping on the occupied bed.

"Link! Wake up! Get up, hurry!"

"Ehh?"

A boy with a bedhead of blond hair sat up in bed and looked up at Malon with dazed blue eyes.

"Wha…what's going on? Did the cuccos get out again?"

"It's the mare, Link!" Malon kept jumping excitedly.

Still half-asleep, Link replied hazily, "What mare?"

"The mare, Link! C'mon! She's giving birth!"

"Birth…?" Link looked up confusedly.

Then, his eyes snapped wide open.

"Ahh! The mare!"

Malon jumped down from Link's bed and looked the other direction while he leapt got out of bed and threw on a pair of trousers. She danced impatiently, and no sooner had Link pulled up his pants did she grab him by the wrist and start dragging him downstairs.

"Wait a second! I have to go to the bathroom!" Link cried out frantically.

"Well hurry up! I'll be in the stable." She let go of his hand and ran for the stairs.

"Are the cuccos in the pasture yet?" He called after her.

"Yes, so you don't have to worry about them." She hurried out of the house, muttering the words "Scaredy cat," under her breath. She raced into the stable to find Ingo pacing the floor, and her father still bent over the mare.

"Link's coming. He'll be a minute." Neither of them looked up.

"The foal got turned into breech position," Talon announced.

"Will it be ok?" Malon asked, putting her hands to her mouth.

"It'll be fine as long as this ol' girl don' move 'round too much."

Talon gently patted the mare's neck.

"Malon, go get a bucket o' water from the barn, an' bring it here ta me. Carefully."

She raced out the stable, unlocked the doors of the barn, and went inside. She grabbed an empty bucket and dipped it into the water-filled tub. Now with a heavy bucket, she strained to carry it back to the stable when Link appeared at the barn door.

"Has anything happened yet?"

"Nuh uh. Lock the barn door for me. and help me get this to Dad."

Link bolted the door then reached out for the handle of the bucket. With the two of them carrying the bucket, they made their way into the stable and brought the bucket to Talon.

"Anything else, Daddy?" Malon asked as they placed the bucket next to him.

"For now, nothin'. I'll let you two know if there's any change, but for right now, you need ta wait outside."

"But Dad-"

"No buts. If there's too many people around, the mare can get scared and hurt the foal durin' the process."

Talon dipped a cloth into the bucket of water and wiped his hands with it.

"Don't worry 'bout a thing, you two," he put one hand on Malon's head and the other on Link's shoulder. "You'll be the first to know if anything happens. Now git."

Link and Malon dragged their feet as they headed out the stable, with saddened looks on their faces. Malon picked up her basket and followed behind Link, closing the door behind them. They walked into the pasture.

"Aww," Link whined. "I wanted to help." He kicked a stray pebble.

"Yeah, me too. Except I also didn't." Malon sat on the grass and set the basket in her lap.

"What do you mean?" Link asked as he sat down beside her.

"It looked really gross. There was a bunch of icky stuff coming out of the horse's butt when I first walked in."

Link's face turned green.

"You're gonna make me puke!"

Malon reached out and wiggled her fingers toward him.

"No! Don't you dare!"

She tackled Link and started tickling him. They rolled in the grass and screeched hysterically, Malon tickling Link's armpits while he tried desperately to push her off. Finally, she released him and gave him room to breathe, continuing to laugh. After a few deep breaths, they sat in silence and watched the horses and cows graze, the two calves leeching onto their mothers' udders, trying to suck away at whatever milk was left.

"Oops," Malon thought out loud. "I took their breakfast away. Well, I guess now is as good a time as any to start eating grass."

A loud gurgle rumbled next to her. She looked over at Link, who had a miserable look on his face.

"I'm so hungry," he groaned. Hearing this, Malon remembered her own stomach.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I could eat an octorok."

She grabbed her basket and stood up.

"Dad says horse birthing takes forever. Let's go to our secret place while we wait! On the way we can get those berries you like."

"Sounds good to me," Link answered happily, smacking his lips.

They heard the barn door open and close behind them. They saw Ingo run for the house with both hands over his mouth. He darted inside and slammed the door behind him.

"Told ya it was gross," said Malon, and they both giggled.

"Race ya!" She yelled and took off running toward the main gate.

"Hey!" Link ran after. Malon's red hair trailed behind her as she raced, laughing as she went. In seconds, she reached out for the gate and slammed her hand down onto its metal bars. Link slammed his hand down the moment after.

"I win," she gasped as she caught her breath.

"You cheated," Link heaved. "You didn't say 'go.'"

"I didn't cheat."

"Did too."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Link glared at Malon, and she glared back. They stared each other down, until Link broke their gaze by giggling.

"Okay fine, you didn't cheat."

Malon raised an eyebrow.

"It… it doesn't matter," she said finally. "I bet when we're grown ups, you'll beat me without even trying. Let's go get those berries."

Malon walked slowly down the path and toward the tall berry bushes that leaned back against the fence.

"Did you have to do all the morning chores by yourself?" he asked quietly.

"Ingo milked all but one cow," she replied. "And I guess Dad moved the horses into the pasture, so there wasn't much left except for the cuccos, and you wouldn't have helped with them anyway."

Malon shoved branches out of her way, picking as she went. When she realized she was the only one in the bush, she turned around. Link was standing behind her, staring at the forest beyond the field.

"Don't just stand there, Link."

"Huh… what?" He snapped out of his trance and looked at her blankly.

"Help me get some berries."

"Oh, right."

He joined her in working on the bush.

"What were you lookin' at?" Malon asked, but Link kept foraging, staring intently at the berry bush.

"Hello? Anyone in there?"

"Hmm?" His head snapped up.

"I asked what were you looking at."

"Nothing," he said quickly. Malon brought her face closer to Link's.

"You sure were staring at nothing for a long time."

Link looked away, trying to lose Malon's gaze, but she moved to his other side to face him again.

"I thought I saw something, but it was nothing."

"What do you think you saw?"

"It looked like… a light, I guess?"

"A light?"

"Yeah, except it also wasn't a light."

"A light that wasn't a light," Malon laughed. "You sure are weird."

"No, I'm serious!" Link threw his hands in the air. "It was huge, and it looked like a wolfos!"

Malon blinked.

"A wolfos made out of light?"

"That's the only way I can describe it," Link replied.

He thought for a moment, and started scratching his head. "I'm sorry. That must sound really weird."

Malon brought her thumb to her lower lip.

"Maybe you can ask Dad about it when we get back."

When Link looked down sheepishly, she punched his shoulder lightly.

"Help me with these berries," she said. The two returned to gathering their breakfast and filled the basket with the sweet, tart berries. They then headed for the bordering woods.

On the far east side of Lon Lon Ranch, across the meadows of the Hyrule Field, lies the Ordona Wood. It was through these woods that Link and Malon walked. The sun had risen out of the eastern mountains and climbed slowly over the trees. It shone through the branches, and cast a green light that scattered sparkling shadows onto the earth.

As soon as Link and Malon entered the forest, the birds grew still, and all sounds stopped. No woodland creatures darted away to their nests. No insects flew about. No rustle of wind shook the trees. Even the fallen leaves and branches that littered the path went quiet as they broke them under their feet. All they heard was their own footsteps. Malon felt a sense of dread creep up her back.

"This place sure is creepy today," she thought to herself, looking in all directions. She felt eyes peering out from behind every tree, underneath every rock, and between every branch.

"Link, let's hurry. There's something really weird about the forest today."

Malon turned around and saw only the empty path behind her. She halted, and her face turned white.

"L…link?"

A branch broke in the distance. She whipped her head toward the noise, dropping her basket.

"Who's there?!"

Another branch broke, much closer, and Malon shrieked.

"Don't hurt me!"

She bolted forward, hugged the closest tree, and began crying.

"LINK!"

"Yes?"

Malon squealed and jumped several inches in the air. She twisted around and saw Link standing behind her, extending his arms toward her. She marched up to him, hot tears streaming down her face.

"Where did you go?!"

"Me? What about you? You were gone for hours."

"What?"

Malon's eyes grew wide. They stared at one another, terrified.

"What happened?" Link finally said.

"We were just walking down the path like we always do and when I turned around you weren't there anymore. Where did you go?"

"I didn't go anywhere. I was following you when all of a sudden you disappeared and everything turned black. And then the ground faded away and I thought I was gonna fall but I… didn't…"

Link's face turned deep red. Malon's terror gave way to anger. She threw her hands in the air.

"What the heck are you talking about?! Is this some kind of joke? I bet it is, isn't it?! For that race earlier!"

"It is not!" Link cried, and started following Malon in her pacing. "You know I'd never do that!"

He reached out and grasped Malon's arm. She instantly stopped pacing.

"Malon, please," Link whispered.

Malon looked deep into Link's eyes, trying to find an answer. Finding nothing, she brushed his hand away.

"Forget it," she mumbled. She turned her face away so he couldn't see the tears in her frustration. They stood silently at the fork in the path.

"Let's just go," Malon groaned, and took the left fork. Link stood where he was, watching Malon walk down the path without him. She glanced back to see him rooted at the spot.

"Well? Are you coming?" She called.

"You dropped your basket," he whispered.

"What?"

"You left the basket over here!" He called back.

Link took two big steps to where the basket laid overturned and the berries littered on the ground. He stooped down set the basket upright, then began picking up the berries, one at a time. Malon watched quietly from her end of the path as he plucked all the berries from the dirt path and placed them in the basket again.

When he finished, Link grabbed the basket by its sides, and carried it in both hands as he carefully approached Malon. He held it out to her, but she walked away.

"I didn't mean to scare you, Malon! Honest! I'm sorry, okay? Will you please take the basket?" He chased after her, berries falling from the basket as he ran. Malon stopped, and Link stopped short to keep from running into her.

"Maybe we should go back," she sighed, her voice breaking.

"What? Why?" Link nearly dropped the basket.

"Never mind. Let's just hurry," She yanked the basket from him and continued on, with him following closely behind.

The forest hummed with life. A warm breeze rustled through the leaves, and bees buzzed back and forth between branches. Guays gathered in groups to dig for bugs. Beetles crawled through the thick grass. Life stirred all around, just as it did before they'd entered the wood. The Ordona Woods are deep and heavy with tall trees springing from the earth. Thicker leaves jut from the branches, absorbing the sun's rays and filtering them into a green fluorescence onto the path, revealing mirages that bounced to and fro from the trees. Sometimes, someone would claim to see fairies, dancing across one of the paths or flitting through the leaves, but most chalked it up as a trick of the light.

Link and Malon came to their favorite spot: an out of place meadow, with gold grass two feet high and no trees within a hundred-foot radius. In the center of the meadow was one lone tree, tall enough to pierce the forest canopy, with low branches as thick as the trunk. Malon approached the tree, jumped for the lowest branch and began climbing. Link jumped up after her.

"Don't drop any of those berries," he called up.

"I won't," she called back, and laughed.

Within minutes, she and Link found their way to the top, and found a comfortable perch to sit on while they ate their berries.

"I still can't believe how big this forest is. We're so far out, you can't even see the ranch anymore."

All around them, the decades-old forest surrounded their tree for miles.

"Mmpshr. Yeh, mnd hw burg dis furesh gut."

Bright red juice dripped from Link's lips.

"Link, you pig! Don't eat all the berries!"

Malon yanked the basket away from him. He swallowed hard and tried to climb over her.

"But I'm hungry!"

"So am I!" She shot back, grabbing a huge handful of berries.

"No fair! That's way more than I've eaten so far."

Malon set the basket between them.

"There's still a ton left. Eat those."

Malon and Link sat up in the tree for hours, laughing and gobbling berries and looking out at the forest. After they emptied the basket, Link pulled a tiny wooden flute from his shirt and began to play. Malon sang along beside him.

"You really like that thing, don't you?" She asked. "Maybe someday when we go to Hyrule City, we can find you a nicer one."

When the sun was higher in the sky, they climbed down and played hide and seek in the meadow, finding hiding spots more suitable than the last every round. When they finished that, they looked for stones to throw from one end of the field to the other and see whose stone got farther.

Now, the sun now hung low, streaking the sky red and yellow. Malon had sat down and watched as Link threw the rest of the stones across the clearing.

"How far did that last one go?" She asked after one of his tosses.

"I think it hit that tree at the other end of the clearing."

"Yeah right. You wish."

"It did! I swear!"

"You're not strong enough yet."

"Are too!"

Link picked up another pebble and waited for Malon's inevitable  _'are not,'_  but it never came. He turned around and saw she had a thoughtful look on her face, and was poking the ground with a stick. The front of her dress and her hands were covered in loose dirt, and her hair was a tangled wavy crown on her head. Even through the dirt, her tanned skin glowed.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm?" She looked up at him. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking."

"What about?" Link dropped the rock in his hand and sat down next to her.

"The foal. I hope it's a girl. We've got too many geldings, that's what Dad says."

"Oh yeah," He replied blankly.

"Don't tell me you forgot about it."

"Of course not!"

"I bet she'll like you best."

"We don't even know if it's a girl."

"I still think it'll like you the most. And when we're all grown up, we can finally use that racetrack!" Malon stood as she spoke and raised her hands to the sky.

"And when we're grown up, when we're done with all our chores, we can spend the rest of the day racing!"

Link stood and did the same. They held their hands high in the air until one of them―and to this day neither can remember who―broke the silence.

"Shouldn't it be born by now?"

Link and Malon dropped their arms and looked at each other.

"The foal!"

"We missed it!"

They were motionless one second, then fell sprawling to the ground the next, painfully rubbing their temples.

"Watch where you're going!" Malon shouted angrily.

"You watch it!" Link shot back.

"Come on! We have to get back!"

Malon picked herself up and snatched her basket off the ground, then pulled Link up by his arm. They raced off into woods and followed the path back to the ranch. From the meadow, Link's calls to Malon, yelling for her to wait up, could still be heard. A gust of wind suddenly swept through the meadow, then just as quickly disappeared, and the woods were silent once more. The sun began sinking into the west mountains, and dusk slowly set in.

In recent years, travelers entering the forest claimed to see even stranger illusions, other than the occasional fairy. Once in a while, someone would claim to have seen a large creature made of light, wandering the woods at any part of the day. Some have even stated coming close to the creature, and hearing it speak the language of the Goddesses. For now though, most continue to regard this creature as another prank played by the sun and mischievous forest.

Quiet circled the clearing. No dragonflies buzzed across the grass. No guays cried. No tektites skittered. The meadow was still.

Steady footsteps approached the clearing. A golden creature with broad shoulders and burning eyes―a wolfos―emerged from the forest and entered the meadow. It moved to the tree, and raised its head to look up at the perch where they had sat, then turned to the path they followed. The sound of Link and Malon's laughter, as they ran back to the ranch, could still be heard. The wolfos made of light turned back to the tree and slowly sauntered behind it, but did not reappear on the other side. Instead, a swift breeze blew through the meadow and into the forest.

* * *

The setting sun painted a a golden glow on Lon Lon Ranch. Grazing in the pasture were fifteen cuccos, seven chicks, one rooster, four cows, two calves, two geldings, one stallion, one mare, and a new addition to the Lon Lon Ranch family; a stumbly-legged foal latched tight onto the mare's teat, nursing for the third time that day. Talon and Ingo leaned against the barn doors, looking out into the pasture.

Link and Malon came clamoring out of the woods, breaking as many branches as possible while running, and made a mad dash for the main gate. They ran until they reached the barn, where Link fell backwards onto the soft grass, and Malon bent forward with her hands on her knees. They both breathed heavily.

"Where've you troublemakers been all day?" Ingo spat. Talon laughed heartily.

"I'm sure they were out doin' kid stuff and who knows what else." He looked out into the pasture. The foal was now wandering the pasture without venturing too far from her dam.

"Dad, can we please please please go see the foal please?!"

"That ain't a good idea, Malon. The mare's been awful protective since it went out a' labor. She about bit my hand off, and I won't risk either of ya gettin' kicked in the head."

"Aww, come on! First we can't help with the birth, and now we can't even go see it!"

"You can see it fine from here, darlin'."

"Barely!"

"Please, Mr. Talon, sir."

Everyone looked over to Link. He felt his face growing hot and wished he hadn't spoken, but continued.

"You said it before; if we want the foal to get used to us, we need to get to know it early. So…please?"

Talon kept his eye on Link, then finally laughed.

"Seems I can't argue with that, Ingo. If you two go over, approach slow-like, ya hear? An' keep it quiet."

"We promise," they chimed, then made their way into the pasture. Once near the mare and foal, they edged forward carefully.

"Easy now, girl," Malon whispered out loud. The mare looked to the two nearing children. She brayed nervously and lowered her head.

"It's okay. We're friends, remember?" Malon slowly drew near to the mare, and scratched her behind the ears. "We just want to see your baby. Can we, please?"

The mare raised her head and whinnied as it laid down.

"'Atta girl," She cooed and ran her fingers through the mare's mane.

"I'll never understand how you have such a way with horses," Link said in a hushed tone.

"They're not that different from people. If you're nice to them, they'll be nice to you. Come on, lets go see the foal."

The foal wobbled on its new legs a few feet from where the mare now laid down. It nipped at a stray butterfly and missed. Link and Malon inched their way closer to the foal. When it saw them approaching, it took up canter and walked off.

"Shoot. How're we gonna get it to come close to us?"

"Maybe if you sing that song?" Link suggested. "All the other animals on the ranch seem to like when you sing to them. Maybe she will too."

"I guess it can't hurt to try."

Malon took a deep breath, and began her song. A mild wind swayed through the grass and carried her song to the foal. Almost instantly, the foal twitched its ears upward and galloped back to Malon.

"Well that was easy," Link laughed. He put his hand out to the foal, but it trotted behind Malon and away from him.

"Maybe not."

"Maybe you should sing, too," giggled Malon.

"I can't sing, but I can still play." He pulled from his pocket the wooden flute, and began to play Malon's song. As he played, the foal peeked around and carefully approached Link, resting its head against the side of his leg.

"Aww! It likes you! I knew it would!" Malon squealed with joy and put her hands to her face.

"Shh!" Link stopped and put a finger to his lips. "Not so loud."

The foal smacked Link's leg with her head, so he continued playing. He would've played all night if Talon hadn't called out 'dinner time.'

"We have to go now. Bye guys!" Malon waved to the mare and the foal, then she and Link walked out of the pasture to the barn where Talon and Ingo waited for them.

"Looks like you've made a friend," Ingo said playfully. Link looked back and saw the foal standing right behind him.

"Go back," Link said nervously. "Your mom's gonna get mad at me."

"We should think of a name for the little filly," Talon scratched his chin.

"Can Link and I name her?" Malon clasped her hands together.

"Ehh, why not?"

"I've already got the perfect name!" Malon scratched the foal behind its ears. "I remember a book that Mom read a long time ago, about a goddess from another land who watched over all the horses in her world and took care of them. I'm gonna call her 'Epona.'"

"That sounds perfect," Talon smiled.

"Sounds good to me," Link agreed. Then his stomach growled, and everyone laughed.

"Can we please go eat?" Link painfully asked, and rubbed his stomach.

"Let's get all the critters in, and then we can go eat. I'm hungrier than a Goron," Talon gruffly replied, rubbing his giant belly.

The horses and cows were taken into the stable and barn, and the cuccos were brought back into the house. The family was finally ready to eat dinner. All four sat at the table, Talon thanked Ingo for preparing the dinner, he roughly replied not to mention it, and they ate in silence.

"Oh!" Malon spoke suddenly. Everyone looked up from their plates.

"Link! Tell Dad what you saw today in the forest!"

"The forest?" Talon asked, his tone serious. Link flushed, and he looked down at his food. He poked at a pea with his fork.

"What did you see in the forest today?" Talon repeated. Link's face turned a bright shade of red.

"I think I saw a wo…" he mumbled.

"A what?"

"A wolfos," he said a little louder.

"Well shoot, that ain't nothing special," Ingo intervened. "Wolfi run through those woods all the time."

"Tell them what else!"

Malon dropped her fork in her excitement. She bent down under the table to pick it up.

"It was a wolfos," the words barely escaped his mouth. "Made out of light."

Made outta light?" Talon raised his eyebrow. "Well that's a head-scratcher."

"I have been hearing some people say they saw something like a creature made of light wandering those woods," Ingo informed his brother.

"That sounds like trouble to me. Link. Malon. From here on out, try not to go too deep into the forest anymore. I never liked you two going in there so far to begin with."

"But Dad!" Malon lifted her head up quickly, hitting it on the table's underside. The plates clattered from the impact. She let out a gasp of pain and started rubbing her head.

"No buts. I'm not saying you can't go in, I'm saying I don't want you to go trekking all night through the forest. Am I clear on that?" Both kids gave the obligatory and exasperated 'yes sir,' and dinner continued. It was Talon who broke the silence this time.

"I don't know how I'm gonna make it to the New Year's Festival this year. So much work has piled on in the last few days, and I still need to head to Ordon with Cremia tomorrow."

"I could head to the festival instead if you want," Ingo replied with a mouth full of fish.

"That'd be great, but that still leaves the youngin's alone on the ranch and I don't want that, especially with a new foal."

"Link and I can take care of her while you're gone! Honest we can!"

"Absolutely not. You kids don't have the first idea as to how ta take care of a mare and her foal. It takes years to know how ta handle it, and even longer ta know what ta do in an emergency."

"Then let us come with you to Hyrule!"

"No way! The festival's way too big and crowded. It would only take a few seconds for the two of you to get into some sort of trouble, or worse, to get swiped from under my nose. And besides, there are some things in that city the two of you just aren't ready to see yet."

"Aww," Link thought to himself. "I really want to go, too."

"Then let us go with you to Ordon, Uncle Ingo! Pretty please!" Malon clasped her hands together and batted her eyelashes. Her puppy eyes had no effect on Ingo.

"If everyone leaves the ranch, who will be here to watch it?" he said, taking a bite of fish.

"Mhm. Smmwun mght wunn stil fa nu ful," Link muffled from his fish-stuffed mouth.

"Link! Don't talk with your mouth full!" Malon covered her eyes and looked away. "No one likes 'see-food!'"

He swallowed hard and tried again.

"I said, someone might try to steal Epona."

"That's right," Ingo agreed. "With all the raidings lately, leaving the ranch alone wouldn't just irresponsible. It would be dangerous."

"I just don't know what I'm gonna do," Talon sighed, picking at his fish.

"What if…"

Everyone turned to Ingo.

"What if Link and Malon go with Cremia to Ordon instead?"

"Eh, I don' know. I don't wanna put the girl out. She's tryin' to run a ranch of her own, and raise a sister who's practically a baby herself. I'm not sure I wanna give her two more to look after while she's trying to do business in town."

"We're not babies anymore!" Malon shouted out.

"I know you aren't, darlin'," Talon hushed. "You two are shootin' up faster than I can watch, but there's still so much you don' know about the world, much less runnin' a ranch."

"Now's a good chance for them to start learning," Ingo replied. "They're old enough to start seeing a bit of the world. It would be easier than taking 'em to the big city."

"But I still don't wanna bother Cremia anymore than necessary. That poor girl's too young to be runnin' a ranch by herself. And what about those thieves? If they've been hitting us, they've been robbin' the Romani ranch blind."

"Please Dad! Can we go? I don't wanna be away from the foal, but I don' wanna stay on the ranch and do nothing all day! I want to see things in the world, even if it's only the next town over! Pretty pretty please!"

Malon held her clasped begging hands out for all to see and hung her head low.

"Don't you start begging me, girl; you know how I feel about beggin'. If you two go to Ordon Village with Cremia, you'd be there on business, not to have fun. This ain't a field trip for youngsters! And on top of that, I just got done explainin' that I  _didn't_  want you trekkin' through the forest in the middle of the night, and this job would require just that! Not to mention the-"

Talon stopped his mouth, then tried again.

"No. Absolutely not. I won't have you running through the forest and all over creation, causin' trouble for Cremia."

"You could take us to Romani Ranch. That way we wouldn't be going through the forest alone in the middle of the night. And when we got back from Ordon, you could pick us up too! We promise not to bother Cremia! We'll be too busy having fun with Romani, right Link?"

Malon shoved Link's shoulder, prompting him to chime in.

"Uh, yeah! We promise we won't bother Cremia."

"That's just what I'm talkin' about! There's business ta be done in Ordon, and if you're too busy foolin' around, playin' games with her sister, then that business won't get done," Talon began to pinch his forehead between his fore finger and thumb.

"We've been there lotsa times, Dad," Malon reminded him. "I've seen what you do every time we go. We just have to fill out the shipment forms so all the milk can go to Hyrule, right? I've seen you fill those forms out, and I've been practicing my writing lots and lots! I could do it! Plus, Link is so strong, I bet he could carry all the milk onto the cart by himself! We're gonna have to do it by ourselves someday!"

Talon muttered something that no one else could understand. Ingo put his hand on his should

"They've been to Ordon plenty of times. It wouldn't be goin' to another country. If they gotta start getting used to the adult world, this would be a good way for them ta start."

"I know, I know! But still…"

Talon pinched hard on the skin above his nose, then jerked his head up and glared at Link. Link darted his eyes over to Malon, then Ingo, and realized everyone was staring at him.

"Why is everyone looking at me?" He thought, reaching a sweaty hand to the back of his head, which grew hotter by the second. After an eternity, Talon turned his excruciating glare to the tabletop. No one else said a word, but finally, Talon gave up.

"If you're going to Ordon tomorrow, the two of you are to be up and at 'em early in the mornin', before the sun rises. I wanna see you bright-eyed, not fallin' asleep on the way to Romani Ranch. That means your both goin' to bed right after dinner! Got it?"

"Yes sir!" Malon announced happily.

"Yes sir…" Link murmured.

"We've gotten up early to go to Ordon before, remember?" Malon giggled, wearing a giant grin.

"Don't get smart with me. I can change my mind any time I please. You're not to get in Cremia's way on the ranch, or in Ordon, or at any point between the two places. You'll do anything she asks ya, and mind yer manners, and behave yourselves while your in Ordon. Remember that your there on business, not to mingle and do 'diddly do daa'. If that business don't get done, I'll have both your heads, got it?"

"Yes sir."

"I'll explain the rest to you two tomorrow morning after you've woken up. Since it looks like you've both finished dinner, it's time for bed."

"Yes sir!" They immediately stood up from the table and took their dishes over to the sink. Malon led the way to their bedroom, marching with her head high and shoulders straight. Link huddled slowly after her.

"You really think they'll be okay, Ingo?" Talon sighed.

"They'll be fine. She's your daughter after all. And you've done a fine job taking care of the boy."

"God, I hope you're right. I got such a bad feeling in my gut and I wish to hell it'd go away."

"Think somethin' bad's gonna happen?"

"Of course I do! That boy―He's…" Talon groaned miserably. "I'm being depended on to raise him, but now I'm lettin' him go runnin' through the woods, goin' to strange places all by himself. He's already started seeing things, and he's not even of age yet! Just when is―"

Talon cupped his face in his hands, and his shoulders scrunched tightly.

"It's so hard acting like everything's normal when it's not. My own daughter… Someday, she might have to watch that boy, who's practically her brother, die in her arms. I don't know if she could handle that. He might as well be my son, Ingo. I don't think I could watch him die either. I –"

Ingo grabbed his brother's shoulders and held them hard.

"He won't die, Talon. I promise you, that boy will not die. It is his destiny to live. He is alive now and he will continue to live. If you don't let him go running wild through the woods every now and then, he'll be miserable, and then what good would he be to anybody? If anything does happen on this trip, they've got Cremia and Fado, and everbody in Ordon to watch out for them. But if you don't give the boy some leeway now, then he'll never have it later. When he's grown up and doing what his destiny dictates… When he's facing everything the world is gonna throw at him, he'll need to recall his time on the ranch, and remember you, and Malon, and all the people he knew and loved."

Talon brushed Ingo's hands from off his shoulders.

"You can be awfully smart when you wanna be. But you're right. Maybe I'm just letting myself get caught up in all this. I don't know if I could run this ranch without your help. It makes me wonder how a girl like Cremia can do it by herself."

"I think it's time we headed to bed ourselves," Ingo interrupted, looking up at a worn out clock on the wall.

"Suppose so."

* * *

Link lied motionless in bed, his hands cupped behind the back of his head. In her bed next to his, Malon talked away.

"I can't believe Dad is gonna let us go to Ordon by ourselves! It'll be so much fun! We'll get to hang out with Cremia and Romani! And I finally get to try to run the ranch for once! And we get to spend the New Year with everyone in Ordon Village! And you get to see Ilia, Link! You wanna go see, Ilia, don't you?" Malon giggled and waited for Link to throw his pillow for mentioning her, but it didn't come.

"Is Talon mad at me?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Malon sat up in bed and looked over at Link.

"He was staring at me real hard while we were talking about Ordon, like he was really angry. And before that, after I told him what I saw in the woods, he said we couldn't go in anymore."

"That's just Dad, Link. He said he didn't want us to go deep into the forest, not go into it at all. He probably just doesn't want us to get eaten by mobgoblins or something."

"It's a good thing I didn't tell him what else I saw in the woods," Link thought, then continued out loud, "But why was he staring at me so hard, before he finally said we could go to Ordon?"

"Maybe he's afraid you'll drop all the milk bottles and break them."

"Shut up!"

The pillow finally came and hit Malon square on the chin.

"You're not getting this back," she giggled.

"Oh, come on! I only have that one, and you've got three over on your bed!"

"Now you know what to ask for your birthday."

"Fine!"

Link turned over on his side to face the wall.

"Aww, I was only joking. Here, you can have it back." Malon tossed the pillow back to Link's bed. It gently hit the back of his head, but he pretended not to notice. Under the bottom of the door, they saw the light in the main room shut off.

"That's our cue to sleep. Good night, Link. I'm sorry I was mean. I'm just really excited to go to Ordon Village."

Malon turned off the lamp on the nightstand between the two beds, then pulled her covers up to her chin.

"I know. Good night, Malon."

Link took the pillow and readjusted it, then turned onto his back again and stared up at the ceiling. All day long he thought about the things he'd seen in the forest; the wolfos made of light, and when Malon disappeared in front of him. He remembered the vision clearly.

"I was following Malon in the woods, just like always, when all of a sudden she disappeared and everything turned black. The ground faded away, and I thought I was gonna fall but I didn't. I was walking through the dark sky and all around me was darkness. Everywhere I looked I saw stars. Some of them were really small, as if they were far away, and some of them were huge, and they were the most beautiful colors I'd ever seen.

"And then I heard voices, and one by one they told me the names of each star, but I was so scared and excited that I can't even remember any of the names.

"After drifting in the darkness and looking at all the stars, I suddenly flew forward really fast. I was moving so fast, I thought I'd never stop ever again. But then I did stop. When I looked up, I saw the biggest star of all. It was a hundred times bigger than any of the others, and there were so many colors flashing before my eyes. I felt like I was under water, watching the surface from underneath.

"I closed my eyes, only a second, but when I opened them again, I saw a bright light and a big green hill. Standing on it were the three tallest ladies I'd ever seen. I tried to call to them. They didn't answer back, but I kept hearing these voices in my head, and knew they were their voices. I smiled and waved, and when they saw me, they waved back.

"I turned around, and saw Malon crying on the tree and calling my name, so I came back."

Link thought these words over and over again to himself, recalling the vision to himself until he fell asleep, and had the same dream he'd had every night for the past week.

* * *

_I'm walking through the field outside of the ranch when Malon runs up to me and hugs me. She's crying, so I ask her what's wrong. She tells me she misses me and wishes I'd never gone away. Before I can tell her I never left, she fades away, and so does the field. Everywhere I look is nothing but light. Suddenly everything goes dark, except for one light above me. When I look up to see what it is, I see three gold beings flying straight down at me. They fly around me in all directions, and suddenly I see Hyrule beneath me. Then the golden beings fly up into the sky, and there's a big flash. I shield my eyes and turn away, but when I look back, there are three gold triangles, spinning, and floating down toward me. I reach up to take them before they can fall, but before I can get close enough, everything goes dark again…_


	3. Ordona 2: Lost Woods

Link's eyes drifted halfway open. Moonlight poured through the window and lit up the room. Malon slept soundlessly in her own bed.

Link moved slowly from his covers, placed both feet on the floor, and stood up. He drifted to the bedroom door, turned the handle, and quietly stepped outside. He walked into the living room and approached the door leading downstairs, making no sound as he moved. He opened it and began descending the stairs. The cuccos stirred softly as they slept in the coop, but awoke when a loud creak erupted from the fourth step from the bottom. They cooed and clucked and watched Link move with half-opened eyes.

He continued down the remaining stairs and tried the front door. When he found it locked, he turned the hatch and tried again. This time, it pushed forward and he stepped out into the illuminating night. The cuccos huddled back into their nests and returned to sleep as Link closed the door behind him.

The air outside was still and crisp. Thick clouds streaked the sky, but not enough to cover the waxing moon. Link turned his empty gaze to the howl of a wolf rang out from the forest, and the moon began shifting. Link rubbed his eyes.

"Is the moon getting bigger?"

He stared at the moon, and realized it was waxing so fast, it turned full within seconds, then began waning just as quickly.

"Wait a minute. How did I get here? I was in bed a second ago."

The wolf howled urgently. Link looked up again and saw the moon was at the last quarter.

"How is this possible?"

A gust of wind picked Link up and carried him forward into the air.

"Aagh! What's happening?!"

He flailed his arms and legs about, trying to get his feet back on the ground. Just as soon as it started, the wind placed him back down. Once more, the wolf howled. Link moved his eyes in the direction the wind had carried him, and realized he was the facing the forest.

"The forest is… calling me?"

The moon changed to new, and waxed again.

"You have three rotations left," A voice spoke softly. "You must hurry."

"Who said that?" Link whipped around, looking for the voice.

"Please don't waste time. I'll meet you in there."

The wind picked up again, this time without picking him up, and floated toward the forest.

"…Okay."

Link began walking towards the main gate, then broke into a run. He reached out to open the gate's latch, but the wind lifted him up and over instead, then dropped him back on his feet. He hit the ground running as fast as he could, and reached the forest's entrace before the moon reached the first quarter.

Link discovered that once he reached the forest, several different paths appeared before him.

"Which way do I go?" he asked aloud.

As soon as he spoke, the paths melded into one, and he quickly followed it. Dark trees loomed over Link on all sides as he hurried down the path. Tiny glowing bulbs seemed to dangle from their branches, lighting the way for him. Link soon came to a three-way split in the track. He slowed to a stop at the split and looked down each path, but all three looked the same.

A soft flute began playing a song, one that Link didn't recognize. When he looked down the paths again, he realized the song was coming from the path on his right, and followed it. The glowing bulbs began dancing to the beat of the song as Link ran through the woods, making twists and turns as he followed the song that called to him from deep within the forest.

Finally, Link sprung out from the forest and found himself in his and Malon's meadow. Thousands of bright bulbs dangled from every leaf and branch of the central tree, bouncing and ringing as to the song.

Sitting on an exposed root of the giant tree, there was a girl. She was his height, and dressed from head to toe in green. Even her short hair was bright green; everything about this girl seemed green. Her eyes were closed, but he was willing to bet they were green, too. The only thing not green was the small, potato-shaped instrument in her hands. It was a pretty pink beige.

Link realized the song he'd followed through the forest came from the instrument; from the girl playing it. He carefully approached the strange green girl, and as he did, she stopped playing and looked at him with surprisingly big blue eyes. Neither of them said anything while the dancing of the bulbs in the tree slowed to a halt.

"You didn't make it here with much time, Link," she said, standing from the tree.

"How do you know my name?"

"I don't have time to explain." She took his hand in hers. "Will you be my friend?"

"Huh?!" Link's face turned red.

"Please say you'll be my friend. If you don't we'll all die! Hurry!"

Link looked up into the sky and saw the waning crescent of a moon. It would soon be new again. He thought about how he had followed this girl's song all the way into the forest, and how familiar it sounded to him. But no matter how he tried, he couldn't remember. He looked at the girl holding his hand.

"Okay. I'll be your friend."

She released Link's hand and heaved a sigh of relief. Somehow, the whole forest seemed to sigh with her.

"Thank goodness."

"Who… who are you?"

"My name is Saria, and you just saved our lives. Look."

She pointed into the sky. Link looked up and saw the moon had stopped changing. It stood full, but more importantly, it stood still.

"Take this," she said suddenly and pressed her instrument into his hands.

"But I-"

"Don't worry. I have another one like it. This one's yours now. It's a token of our friendship."

"Um, thank you."

"You didn't know that you sleepwalk, huh?" Saria giggled. "Lucky for us, or else who knows what would've happened."

"Are there others here?" Link asked, dumbfounded.

"I don't think I'm allowed to tell you that. Listen, I have to go, but before I do, I'll teach you a song."

"Is it the one you were playing?"

"Yes."

"But what is this thing? I've never even seen anything like it in my life."

"It's an ocarina. You'll get used to it. Hold it with both hands."

Link tried to hold it the way she had earlier.

"No, now it's upside down. Like this."

She helped him turn it in his hands.

"Place both of your thumbs on those two holes on the bottom, then try blowing through.

Link pressed his lips on the mouthpiece and blew gingerly. A weak, warbling note passed through the ocarina.

"Harder."

Link blew harder and produced a much stronger note.

"Much better," Saria nodded her head. "I'll let you figure out the rest of the ocarina on your own, but you have to learn the song before I go. It's not too different from your flute, so it should be easy for you. By the way, can I have it?"

"Have what?"

"The flute, of course."

"The flute? What flute?"

"It only makes sense that we trade, right?"

She giggled again, and Link felt his cheeks growing hotter.

"You mean my flute? I guess that's okay, but I don't have it with me."

"You don't have to. Just say that I can have your flute, and I'll take care of the rest."

"Okay. You can have my flute."

The second the words left his lips, his flute appeared in Saria's hands.

"This'll make it go much faster."

She began playing her song on Link's flute, and as she did, the bulbs in the tree started dancing again.

"Now you try. Place your other fingers over the rest of the holes to make different notes, just like with your flute."

Link jumbled his fingers over the ocarina trying to get them into their positions.

"Like this?"

"Just like that. Let me hear it."

Link blew again and recognized the first note of Saria's song. Without waiting for further direction, or knowing what he was doing, Link shifted his fingers and began playing the rest of the song. The bulbs in the tree danced as he played, while Saria jumped for joy and clapped her hands.

"Yay! You got that much faster than I thought you would!"

As he finished the song, the ocarina began to sparkle.

"That's my special song that I only teach to my friends. As long as you remember it, you'll be able to talk to me anytime you need. I have to go now, Link, but I know we'll be the best of friends."

The ocarina sparkled brighter and brighter in Link's hands. The forest and Saria began to disappear around him.

"Wait! What's happening? Where are you going?"

"Don't worry!"

Saria's voice echoed farther and farther away as the forest faded into darkness.

"We'll meet again someday!"

Link's eyes drooped. He fell backward onto something soft and fell fast asleep.

* * *

"Link? Wake up, Link," a familiar voice whispered softly in his ear.

Link's eyelids fluttered open. He was in his bedroom again, and Malon was gently shaking him awake.

"What happened?" he mumbled sleepily.

"It's time to go. Dad's outside getting the cart ready, and we're gonna leave for Romani ranch real soon. Get up."

He sat up in bed and rubbed his left eye groggily.

"We'll be waiting for you outside, okay? Hurry up, and don't go back to sleep again."

Malon was already dressed. With some towels and her basket in hand, she left the room without shutting the door.

Link stretched out his arms and yawned. He stopped when he realized he was holding something in his right hand. There, clutched tightly between his fingers, was the ocarina.

"I thought it was a dream."

But there it was in his hand: the proof that he had met a forest girl who called herself Saria.

"Was she even a girl?"

It seemed like she was something else, not even a person. Ingo had said people were seeing strange things in the forest. Link himself had seen the wolfos made of light, not to mention his vision of the stars and those three giant ladies. Maybe she was something else, too. Something not of this world. Was it possible for him, or anyone for that matter, to see strange things in the forest while asleep? But it didn't explain how he got Saria's ocarina in his hand, when he never left the house.

It suddenly occurred to him that he didn't know for sure whether he had left the house or not. Didn't Saria say something about him sleepwalking before? Maybe he really had made his way into the forest where he saw her. But then, how did he get back in his bed?

"The moon!"

Link jumped from his bed, leapt for the window, and promptly fell over his own feet. He picked himself up and looked out the window. Clouds loomed over the ranch, fields, and forest as far as he could see, but they couldn't hide the amply-sized moon that glowed against the gray sky. It lit the world beneath it brightly, but didn't move an inch. Had the moon really gone crazy, waxing and waning and streaking across the sky faster than he'd ever seen? Nothing mad sense anymore.

"What are you doing?!"

Link jumped and whirled around. He saw Malon standing in the doorway.

"I tell you we're waiting downstairs to go to Ordon and you're off daydreaming about who knows what! You're not even dressed yet! Would you hurry up?!"

"Sorry," Link said sheepishly, but she had already left the room. He sighed and left the window.

"No point in worrying about it now, I guess," he thought.

He threw on the nearest clothes he could find. He fit his feet into some sandals, and was about to step out when he stopped and looked back. He had left Saria's ocarina sitting on the bed. He turned back, picked it up, and walked out the door.

All the candles in the house were blown out, leaving the hallway and living room pitch black. Link couldn't see his hands in front of his face. How Malon managed to run through the hallway without tripping over everything was a wonder to him. He extended one hand out in front of him and the other onto the wall next to him, and tiptoed forward.

Link noticed the ajar door of the bedroom next to his. He heard snoring coming from inside, knew Ingo was still asleep, and hoped to keep it that way. Everyone in the house knew Ingo did not like being woken earlier than necessary. Before Talon had installed the new locks, the thieves who came one night and tried to steal the cows met their day of reckoning when they made too much noise. Ingo ended up chasing them down with a fully loaded shotgun he'd acquired from the Gerudo many years ago. While his insomnia worked to the advantage of having a decent security system on the ranch, watching Ingo run after thieves with his gun blazing was not something Link wanted to experience for himself. He was pretty sure Talon wouldn't let a trigger-happy Ingo chase Link with a shotgun, but he wasn't willing to take that chance.

His thoughts about Ingo's light sleeping patterns made Link think. If he had been sleepwalking in the middle of the night, like Saria had told him, why hadn't he woken Ingo before? Had he woken Ingo before and didn't know it? Maybe he knew about Link's nightly prowls and simply hadn't mentioned it. And if Ingo knew, did Talon and Malon know too?

Link felt a nerve of anger rising up. If they knew, why didn't they tell him before? Why didn't Talon do something about it? He could've put one of the locks on the front door, like he had for the stable and the barn. Was everyone in the house just making fun of him? Malon would go for it, if she was in a playfully evil mood, but Link couldn't imagine Talon, the man who had taken him in and raised him as his own, going so far as to make fun of him for something that could be considered distressing, even dangerous.

That's right. Talon had just told both them, not a few hours ago, that they weren't allowed to wander deep into the woods anymore. If Talon had known that Link was sleepwalking, he would have done something by now, and would've warned Ingo and Malon about it, too.

Link's anger replaced itself with dread. That meant no one knew about it. What did he do when he went out at night? Did he simply walk outside then come back, or did he go anywhere, like how he'd gone into the forest tonight? Tonight was the first night he'd ever woken up outside of the house. How did he always end up back in his bedroom before anyone, including himself, had a chance to notice?

"This is crazy!"

Link slapped himself. So many things were happening to him that he wished would go away: weird dreams, strange visions, sleep walking, seeing things in the forest; he wished he just could yell at all of it to go away.

Before he could think of anything else, Link came to the door that led downstairs. His mind turned white and all his blood rushed from his head to his feet. There's no way Malon would've let the cuccos out. They would've made too much noise and woken Ingo. They must still be asleep in the coop downstairs.

"What do I do now?"

A cold sweat beaded across Link's face. He moved his shaking hand from the wall to the door's handle, and held it there for what felt like an eternity. He looked back down the hall and considered going back to the room and climbing out the window. He did that sometimes when Malon wasn't there to help him downstairs, or when the idea of going anywhere near the cuccos was too unbearable.

As much as he wanted to, Link groaned and let the idea go. If he tried to climbing out the second-story window when it was this dark, he'd only succeed in breaking his neck. Even if he didn't hurt himself, getting out the window was an arduous task that took a great deal of time, which he didn't have. And there was still the risk of waking Ingo if he made too much noise.

"Malon and Talon are waiting for me downstairs. When we leave, we can go see Romani and Cremia, and everyone in Ordon."

He swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and turned the door handle.

It was just as dark downstairs as it was upstairs, but Link managed to feel his way out onto the stairs and close the door quietly behind him. There were no sounds from anywhere in the room, except for his own ragged breathing. Before he let his fear take too big of a grip on him, he started down the stairs. He went step by step, placing each foot carefully on the next stair.

"When I sleepwalk," thought Link. "I wonder how I manage to get past the cuccos."

Link's foot landed on the fourth step from the bottom and emitted a loud creak. He froze.

At the sound, the cuccos began to stir. Some of them ruffled their feathers, some cooed, some of them looked up at Link with apathy, but most of them didn't notice, and the ones that did went back to sleep.

Link froze where he stood, even after the cuccos ignored him and returned to their slumber. His heart was pounding so hard he felt it would explode out of his chest. If he moved now, he was sure to trip and fall down the remaining stairs, crash into something, and wake all the cuccos and Ingo. He stayed where he was for several minutes before starting down the rest of the stairs, in spite of his better judgment, his mind screaming,  _'STOP MOVING!'_  the whole time.

To his relief and disbelief, Link managed to pulled off the rest of the stairs, and without waiting for anything else to go wrong, he crossed the coop's floor as fast as he could and went out the front door. The second he was outside his knees gave out and he fell flat on his butt.

"There you are," Malon rushed towards him. "I was about to come get you. What took you so… Did you just go through the cuccos' coop all by yourself?"

He nodded.

"You could have waited for me to come and get you. I thought you hated them. "

"I do."

"But you just went downstairs into a room filled to the brim with them, in the middle of the night, with Ingo still asleep, all by yourself."

Malon extended her hand, Link took it, and she pulled him off the ground.

"You're either really brave, or really stupid."

"C'mon y'all," Talon heaved as he lifted the last box of Lon Lon milk onto a fully loaded, covered carriage. Sitting in the wagon were thirty or so crates, each one holding many bottles of milk, all wrapped with a label depicting the Lon Lon Ranch logo. Drawn up at the front of the carriage were two large horses from the ranch, pawing anxiously at the ground.

"It's time to go."

"Let's go, brave boy," Malon snickered. Link frowned and walked away from her. He climbed up into the carriage and sat in the middle seat

"You know I'm kidding."

Malon climbed over him to take the seat on the far right.

"It's too early for this," he groaned. "Can't we at least wait until the sun rises for you to make fun of me?"

"If walking through the coop full of cuccos didn't wake you up, then noth-…what's that?"

"What's what?"

"That. In your hand."

Link lifted his hand, and realized he was carrying the ocarina the whole time.

"This?"

"Nooo, Link,' she hissed. "Your other hand. Yes, that! What did you think I meant?"

"Geez, Malon! You don't have to be so mean."

Link stuffed the ocarina in his pocket.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I guess I'm still tired, too. Can I please see whatever it was you were holding?"

Malon clasped her hands together, but Link recognized the gesture. It was her 'hands-clasped together' apology, which meant it was insincere, but the last thing he wanted was for their first time in Ordon by themselves to be ruined by an argument. However…

"I can't," he said quietly.

"What? Why not?"

Now Malon was the irritated one.

"I just can't, okay?" Link turned his face away.

"You just don't wanna show me cause you're mad."

Malon folded her arms angrily.

"I'm not telling because you'll think I'm weird!" Link exploded. "Just leave me alone!"

Malon was taken aback.

"Quiet you two!" Talon demanded as he climbed into the driver's seat. "What's with all the hubbub?"

"Sorry sir," Link muttered. Now he felt worse because he knew if Ingo woke up, it was his fault.

"Sorry Dad," Malon replied, still looking quite surprised.

"Let's get outta here before we wake up the whole ranch!"

Talon whipped the reins, said a good  _'hya!'_  and the horses started down the path and toward the gate.

"You two'll need to open the gate and close it back when we head out."

"Yes sir," they said in unison.

When the carriage approached the gate, they climbed down silently from their seats, and opened wide both of the hatches on the gate. As the carriage passed through, they shut the gate behind it. Talon stopped the carriage so they could jump back into their seats. Then, they continued onward, and soon went down a long, broad path that led into the forest. No one said a word.

Link brooded bitterly in his seat, and felt himself close to tears. It wasn't fair that all these strange things were happening to him, and that Malon had to make fun of him for it. Did all these weird things happening to him make him weird, too? For the first time in his life, Link felt alone.

" _When you play my song, you can talk to me anytime you want."  
_

Saria's voice echoed in his mind. He'd only seen her a few hours ago, but he desperately wanted someone to talk to. Someone who wouldn't laugh at him, or look at him like he was an idiot. He pulled the ocarina out of his pocket and stared at it. Maybe when they reached Ordon and Malon wasn't looking, he could talk to Saria then.

Malon sat quietly in her own seat, carefully watching Link; carefully watching him hold the strange instrument in his hand.

"Why does Link think he's weird?" she asked herself. She thought about all the strange things he said he'd seen, and wondered how much of it was actually true. He'd disappeared in the forest yesterday, but she knew Link wasn't one to play practical jokes.

"If I'd seen all those weird things, I wouldn't even know what to do; I'd feel so weird and scared. Maybe that thing he's holding is another of those weird things."

She scooted closer to Link, and whispered in his ear.

"If you tell me what it is, I promise I won't think you're weird."

He looked at her, and could tell she was genuinely curious, and genuinely sorry.

"If I tell you, you can't ask where I got it."

"You didn't steal it, did you?"

"No, I didn't" Link stated matter of factly. "But you still can't ask, okay?"

"Okay," she agreed, and Link carefully handed it over to her.

"It's called a…ocarina," he declared slowly, suddenly confused.

"You said that like you didn't even know, yourself," Malon replied, looking intensely at the strange little instrument in her hand.

"I didn't, until just a little while ago," Link realized, growing even more confused.

" _What's that supposed to mean?_ "

That's what Malon wanted to ask, but decided against it. Instead, she lifted the ocarina to get a better look. The soft curves of the instrument gleamed, and the tan color looked starry silver in the moonlight.

"It's so pretty."

Link saw what she meant. It looked much larger in her small hands. Malon held it away at arm's length and admired it.

"What's it do?" she asked, handing it back to him.

"It's kinda like a flute. I don't know how to play it much yet, but I'm gonna try."

"When did you get it?"

"I got it this morning."

"Where?"

"Malon!"

"Sorry sorry, I forgot!" She said quickly. "But can you blame me? It's so pretty, I think I want one for myself. I wonder if they sell anything like it in the Hyrule City market."

It hadn't occurred to Link that something as mysterious as this could be sold in a store, much less in Hyrule. He'd never been to Hyrule before, but he'd heard enough tales from Talon and Ingo to know that if something existed, it was for sale in the Hyrule City market, and for a good price. If they sold stuff like this, this beautiful ocarina he'd gotten from a forest girl who might not even be human, what other wonderful wares were waiting to be discovered in the city?

"I really want to go," he wished aloud.

"Me too," Malon sighed, cupping her chin in her hands.

They sat in silence as the carriage bumped noisily along the dirt path, and dreamed of the glorious city they longed to see with their own eyes. Everytime any of the adults returned from a trip to the city, there were always new tales to tell, new adventures to hear of, and new treasures to behold. They remembered the stories they'd heard of the magnificent towers of the looming castle, the imposing walls that surrounded the city, the lively marketplace filled with bustling people who had traveled the world and sold collections of artifacts, treasures, and anything else one could imagine. Even though neither of them had ever seen the city themselves, Link and Malon could picture it so clearly in their minds that the fantasy of the city, which awaited them in the Hyrule province, made the idea of waiting until they were of age unbearable.

"It's not fair!" Malon cried out of the blue. Link jumped in his seat, his own fantasies violently interrupted.

"I don't wanna wait! I wanna go to Hyrule!"

She rubbed her face vigorously with her fists.

"I do too," Link murmured longingly.

"Don't worry, you two," Talon spoke suddenly. He put one giant hand on Link's head and ruffled his hair.

"You're gonna grow up faster than you know, and then you'll get to see the city for yourselves."

"Dad," Malon begged. "Tell us a story about Hyrule. Please?"

"Well, I don' know. It's been a whole year since I've been there. I might have a good story fer yeh when I get back."

"Just one! Please?" Malon leaned over Link closer to her father.

"Well, there's one story I can remember, and it's a true one about the civil war that happened not too long ago. It might be too excitin' for ya."

Malon was crawling over Link now. "Tell us, Daddy! Tell us tell us tell us!"

"Get off me!" Link demanded from underneath, trying to push her off.

"All right already, just get off the poor boy before ya smother him to death."

Malon sat back in her seat, but still leaned over Link to hear the story.

"I don' think I've told you this one yet, since it ain't a good story for kids, but you're growin' up, and it's about time you started hearing of the evils in the world. It happened when Link was still a teeny babe in blankets, and you was just a youngster, no older than two."

"What happened, Dad?"

"What happened was horrible. It was one final battle, and we don't even know who started it. They say a huge army of soldiers in dark armor, riding on the backs of horrible black horses, came ridin' into the city one night while people were sleepin', and started tearin' up the place."

"But, I thought the civil war was over when Link came to the ranch."

"Nobody knows for sure what they were doin', exactly. Even to this day, it's still a mystery who those soldiers even were. Some people say they were lookin' for somethin'. They went through every house, breakin' everything inside, smashin' windows, and killin' anyone who tried ta stop 'em. If they were lookin' for somethin', they wanted it bad. When they finished tearin' through a house or buildin', they lit the up the place with torches. It weren't long before the whole city was up in flames. A lot of people died that night."

"That's so scary," Malon gasped.

"That's so sad," Link whispered.

"But you've been to the city, Dad. You said it was a beautiful place. How did they build it back up so fast? And how'd they get those soldiers out?"

"That's the best part. That same night, the King ah Hyrule himself rode into the city on a big white horse. He'd just got back from his kingly duties, but when he saw the fires and the soldiers who caused 'em, he was angrier than a thousand beehives. He cast a magic spell so big and so powerful, he banished those soldiers back to the Twilight Realm from where they came."

"So those soldiers weren't even human," said Link.

"Of course not. No human army could've done the damage those monsters had caused. It's taken 'em nine long years to build the city back to its former glory, but no magic spell can bring back the lives of all the people that were killed, or heal the pain of loved ones lost."

"All because they were just looking for something," said Malon. "Why didn't the people of Hyrule just give it to the soldiers and make them leave?"

"No one knew why them soldiers were in the city in the first place, much less whether they were lookin' for somethin'. They probably figured it was a raid. And even if they knew what they were lookin' for, they probably wouldn't have given it to 'em anyways."

"Why not?"

"Cause if they were lookin' for somethin' and wanted it that bad, it must've been somethin' important. Somethin' they weren't willin' ta hide around and wait for; somethin' that could destroy the world if they wanted."

"Wow…" Malon breathed.

"Why had the King left?" Link replied.

"Kings always leave their kingdoms whenever they've important business to do. This was just another one ah those times. He had no idea of knowin' what was gonna happen when he was away. If he had, he never woulda left."

"What about the Hylian soldiers?" Malon suggested. "Didn't they do anything?"

"The castle guards were the first to die at the hands of those black soldiers. When they tried defendin' the city, the black soldiers rode straight through 'em like they were paper. It seemed like nothin' could stop those soldiers from killin' everyone and destroyin' everythinh."

"What could those soldiers have possibly wanted so bad to destroy the city like that?" Link thought out loud, talking more to himself than the others.

"It's just an idea, remember. No one knows for sure why they attacked the city like that. All we know is that they're gone and they ain't comin' back."

"And that was after the civil war ended, when people thought they could sleep safe at night for once in so long."

Malon looked down sadly at her hands.

"To end up getting attacked like that, and to lose so many people in one night, just when you think the killing is over? It's so sad."

"There's lots you two don't know yet about the world. There's been lots of wars and lots of killin'. You two are lucky to be born in one of the first peaceful eras we've had for a long time. It's been nearly a decade since the Civil War of Hyrule ended, and people can finally live their lives safely and comfterbly. That's somethin' we haven't had fer a long time, and it's somethin' I'm glad the two of you get to have."

Talon ruffled Link's hair again.

"The city of Hyrule has always been a grand place, but it's never been safer. You two should count yourselves lucky that when you get to see it for the first time, it'll be an excitin', and safe, experience for both of yah."

After Talon finished his story, Malon and Link sat in silence for the rest of the trip, thinking about Hyrule, about its walls and its towers, and all the things, good and bad, waiting beyond the city gates; waiting for them. As they continued through the forest, the clouds in the moonlit sky began rumbling loudly, and it wasn't long before rain began to fall. The kids retreated under the cover of the carriage and sat shivering on the boxes of milk while Talon continued driving, exposed to the weather.

For hours, it rained and rained and rained. The huge forest trees shielded most of the weather, but it wasn't enough to block all of it from reaching the woods below. A green smell erupted from the trees as the dark downfall poured upon the canopy and underlying layers of the forest. It wasn't until the sun started rising that the rain finally let up, and Link and Malon returned to their seats in the front. The carriage's cover had done little in the way of keeping them dry. The storm clouds hovered threateningly in the sky all morning afterward, and remained that way until they finally came out of the forest and onto a flat field.

"Are we there yet?" Malon asked for the umpteenth time. She was ignored.

"This is so boring," Link thought, while staring into the field. "I never thought getting to Romani Ranch would take so long."

"It's so cold," Malon shivered. "Why is it so cold when spring is so close?"

"Can I trade seats with you, Malon?"

"Why?"

"Maybe you'll get warmer if you sit between your dad and I."

"Don't have to tell me twice," she smiled, then carefully crawled over Link while he scooted into her spot. Now that he had the window seat, Link leaned over the edge of the carriage and watched the dimly lit forest get farther and farther away from them.

" _I know we'll be the best of friends, Link!"_

He turned the ocarina over and over in his hand, trying to get some sensation that maybe, Saria was thinking of him, too. He had so many questions he wanted to ask: Who are you? What are you? What happened to the moon? Why did you give me this ocarina? But most of all, he wanted to ask her about all of his dreams, the vision he'd had, and everything he'd seen in the forest. The worst she could do was say she didn't know, but maybe there was something she could tell him that would help.

"Tonight," he thought, "I'm definitely gonna talk to her."

"Finally!"

Link turned around to see what Malon was shouting at. The uncanny green fields surrounded the carriage on all sides, and mountain ranges peaked up from miles away. Sitting at the edge of the fields not far away was a fenced-in pasture with engorged cows grazing on the fresh wet grass.

"Finally!" Link repeated.

Within half an hour, the carriage passed by the fields and entered through the main archway. Standing by the arch read a sign: 'Romani Ranch: Milk Village.'


	4. Ordona 3: Romani Ranch

Spring came late to Hyrule that year. Winter hung on so tightly that when the season of flowers said to its predecessor, 'it's my turn,' Demeter's wrath grew insubordinate. The cold continued in a frigid rainfall that drilled the land in the following months, so the fields were always wet and smelled of fresh cut grass. The early spring rainstorms were a double-edged sword for the ranchers and farmers in Ordona, which sliced through many of their seasonal plans.

On one hand, the cold rain brought on strong, hardy crops that farmers sold in the markets. The grain and hay sold to the ranchers were fed to the animals who grew strong, as if they were beaten and frozen by the downpour, and lived. Horses and mules pulled twice their load, cows gave twice as much milk, and goats did all that and more. The farms and ranches who managed to endure the rain basked in the wealth that came with the torrent; for these agricultural denizens, rupees fell from the sky.

On the other hand, the storms brought debt and hardship to many. The rain beat down on the land and fields, and almost everyone had to make repairs daily on their own ranches. Those whose ranches were in less than stellar condition, or couldn't afford the repairs, were all the worse off for it. They were attacked on all sides by the horrible weather, the rising costs of maintenance, banks and money lenders, and the recent string of thefts that plagued the province.

The season was especially hard on the Romani Ranch, whose owner had passed away a year ago and left no one to run it but a sixteen year old girl, her little sister, and the temporary ranch hand.

A dirt path led to a decrepit barn, with splintered boards nailed unevenly against the gaps in the walls where drafts entered through. Next to the barn was a tiny house in even worse shape. Patches of the roof that had blown off in the storms were covered with tarp to keep the rain from falling in. A few gangly horses walked through a weed-ridden field where a young girl with red hair was squatting in the bushes, carrying a bow in hand. She had her eye on a large balloon that was weighted down to keep from floating away. She lifted her bow and was about to fire, when Talon's cariage bumped down the road. She turned and saw them coming toward the ranch, then darted inside the barn. Link and Malon could hear her shouting, 'They're here! They're finally here! Hurry, Cremia!'

"Dad," Malon asked anxiously. "Can we get out here?"

"Calm down, let's just get there first."

The carriage pulled up as a young woman, fleshed out with curly auburn hair and a dirty apron, stepped out of the barn. She was followed by the girl who'd called after her. Talon stepped off the carriage and approached the woman.

"Mornin' Cremia. Sorry we're so late, but we got caught in that dadgum rain."

"Not at all, sir," Cremia replied with a big smile as she wiped her hands on her apron. "You're quite early, in fact. I wasn't expecting you for another hour."

Link and Malon climbed out of their seats. Malon's foot caught the step and she nearly fell, but Link thankfully caught her. They stood behind the carriage and waited for the adults to finish.

"Where's Fado? I didn' see him as we were pullin' up."

"He's out back getting firewood. Seems like we're lighting a fire every night just to keep warm. I wish spring hurry up. It's been cold for far too long."

"It looks like its been awful hard on ya," Talon said, looking back at the shoddy barn.

"It has," she sighed. "We've lost another cow to the cold, and another of Fado's goats. It's bad enough without those thieves we've been having lately. They took another one of our cows just the other night."

"Daggunit!" Talon shouted angrily. "If I ever git my hands on those bloomin' thieves! Cremia, you know if there's anything I can do to help, you can always ask."

"Thank you, Talon. You and Ingo have always been so good to this ranch. I wish we didn't have to impose, but its so hard with just Fado and I."

"Actually, Cremia, I had a favor I wanted ta ask ya."

"Anything. I'd be happy to repay your kindness."

"I won't be able to go to Ordon this year, since I'll be workin' the festival in Hyrule while Ingo watches the ranch. I brought Link and Malon with me, and I was hopin' you could help 'em with the business that needs to get done in Ordon."

Cremia's grin spread from cheek to cheek.

"I thought I saw those two on your cart. Where are they? I want to give them the biggest hug of their life!"

They peeked out excitedly from behind the carriage and ran toward Cremia.

"There you are!" She laughed as she squeezed them tightly.

"We missed you, Cremia!" Malon giggled with her arms around Cremia's shoulders.

"We almost didn't get to see you," Link smiled.

"I missed you guys, too. We haven't had a chance to see you since last fall. I'd be happy to help them with whatever they need, sir."

"Malon here's pretty handy when it comes to fillin' out orders," Talon explained. "She can read an' write better than her ole man, that's for sure. And Link here's gotta lot of muscle for a little guy, so he's pretty good with the heavy liftin'. They won' need much help except with the official stuff."

"You can count on it, Talon. I'll see to it that they get every crate of milk of yours sold."

"I ain't askin' for miracles, girl."

"Neither am I," she winked. "Romani, why don't you go play with Link and Malon, so Talon and I can make arrangements?"

The girl with the bow in hand stood behind Cremia the entire time, peering out intensely at Link.

"We can talk while we work," said Talon. "Let's start by grabbin' some hammers and fixin' up that barn of yours!"

"Maybe we should start by moving your boxes from your carriage into ours?"

"That's probably a better idea. Point the way, and I'll take us there."

Talon climbed back into the carriage, and pulled Cremia up into the seat next to his.

"I'll see if Fado can help. Have fun, you three."

Talon whipped the reins and set the horses at a light trot toward the other end of the ranch. Link and Malon were left standing awkwardly with Romani.

"We haven't seen you in a while," Malon pointed out.

Romani stared at her without a word, so Link and Malon looked nervously at one another. Now that they were alone with her they were at a loss of what to do.

"Will you guys practice with me?" Romani suddenly asked, holding out the bow. "I only have this one, and another one in the house, so we'll have to take turns."

"Okay," they agreed immediately.

Romani lead they way as she shuffled toward the weighted balloon from earlier. She stopped about 50 feet in front of it.

"I'll go first, so I can show you how to do it."

She pulled an arrow out of the quiver on her back, drew it back on the bowstring, and fired. It hit the balloon straight on, and it popped with a loud bang.

"Wow! I wanna try!" Malon jumped up and down. "Me next!"

"I'll blow up some more balloons. Take these."

Romani shoved the bow and quiver into Malon's arms then raced towards the house.

"Wait!" Malon shouted after her, waving the quiver in the air. "How do I put this on?"

"Let me," Link offered, taking the quiver and undoing the strap. "Put it through your arm, like this."

"Thanks." She fit her right arm through the strap, then Link buckled it back in place.

"Is it just me, or does Romani seem distracted? Normally when we get here, she runs toward us and starts calling you 'Grasshopper.'"

"I hate that name," grumbled Link. He sat down on a patch of the driest grass he could find.

"Seriously, though. She usually doesn't care what we do, as long as we're together, but she seemed like she really wanted to play bows and arrows. It's not like her to tell us what to play."

"I don't know. She seemed normal to me,"

"Oh, never mind," she groaned, and decided to admire the bow instead. "I wonder if they sell these in Hyrule, too."

"Don't say that," Link whined. "Of course they do. Hyrule sells everything."

"I wish we could go to Hyrule instead."

Malon sat down next to him.

"At least Talon is letting us go to Ordon by ourselves."

"Not really. He's just making us go with Cremia. I was excited at first, but we're still going there to work. That's no fun."

"At least it's Cremia and not Ingo like last year."

"Good point."

"And maybe there'll be more stories about Hyrule to hear when we get there."

"Do you think that story Dad told us was true?"

"I don't know. It's sad to think that those horsemen killed so many people. I don't think I want to believe it."

Link laid down in the wet grass and looked up into the sky. Malon followed suit, laying down next to him.

"I hope it doesn't start raining again before we can have fun with Romani," she thought out loud.

She looked over at Link and waited for his response. When he didn't answer, she continued, "Dad and Cremia said they were gonna do some work before we leave for Ordon. I hope that doesn't take too long."

Malon cast a long glance over the Romani ranch, examining it. The barn and house were bad enough, but the brown grass in the field was unfit for grazing, the trees were dark and limp, and the weeds and bushes were overgrown. Just from what she could see, a lot of work must've been needed just to keep this poor ranch up and running.

She stood up, undid the strap of the quiver, and dropped the bow onto the dewy grass. Link sat up and said, "What're you doing?"

"I'm going to go help Dad and Cremia."

"What? Why?"

"Look at this place, Link. Cremia's got it so hard here, she can barely run this ranch by herself, and it looks like it's gonna fall apart. You heard her talking about all the stuff that's happened to them over the winter, right?"

"But what about Romani? You just said you wanted to play with her, and it's been so long since we last saw her."

"I know, but I'm going to feel bad about playing the day away while Cremia's working so hard. Dad said we're supposed to be working, so that's what I'm gonna do!"

"I guess so."

"You take this," Malon gave Link the quiver. "Romani still needs someone to play with, and she likes you more than me, anyway."

"Are you sure you don't wanna play, Malon?"

"We'll have plenty of time to play in Ordon. I'll see you later!" Malon ran off in the direction her father had driven the carriage, leaving Link sitting in the middle of the dry pasture, holding the quiver in both arms.

"Now what?" He thought out loud.

"Help please," a voice squeaked behind him. Link turned around and saw a huge bundle of weighted balloons. Romani was carrying so many that only her tiny legs poked out underneath. Link briskly stood up, dropped the quiver and ran over to help Romani, taking half of them.

"Thanks, Link," she exhaled loudly. "Where'd Malon go?"

"Um, she said she wanted to go help Talon and Cremia."

"Really?" Romani held her head low.

"She said she really wanted to play, but she felt bad about playing while Cremia and Talon are working."

"It's not playing!" Romani stamped her foot, dropping the balloons. "It's practicing!"

The balloons floated upwards a ways before their weights brought them drifting slowly back down.

"Sorry," Link said sheepishly. "At least I'm still here, right? And Malon said we'll have plenty of time to pla- I mean practice, in Ordon."

"I can't go," she grumbled.

"What? Why not? Cremia always lets you go with us to Ordon. That's not fair!"

"It's not that my sister won't let me go. I can't leave the ranch."

Romani's voice dropped to a whisper.

"Not tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"Tonight is when  _they_ come."

"They? Who's they?"

"The ones who steal all the cows."

"The thieves? How do you know they-"

"No, not them," Romani cut him off. " _ **Them.**_ "

"Who's  _them_?"

"Where's the quiver?"

"What? Oh, it's over here."

He dropped his balloons, and picked up the forgotten quiver.

"Help me set the balloons up, and I'll tell you who  _they_ are."

"Okay," he murmured.

They took the balloons and walked around the perimeter of the ranch, dropping a balloon behind them every few feet. When they finished, the ranch was covered with targets, waiting to be popped with arrows.

"Perfect! Now we can practice. Do you still have the other bow?"

"I think it's back where Malon dropped it," he pointed to their first spot in the pasture. "I'll go get it."

"Never mind," she shook her head. "I'll get it later. We'll use mine for now. Hand me the quiver."

Romani took the quiver from Link's hand and pulled an arrow from it. She took one step forward, nocked the arrow onto the bowstring with her right hand, and pulled back on it as far as she could. A stillness surrounded Romani as she took her stance and aimed for one of the farther targets. She closed her right eye and released. Just like before, the arrow sailed through the air and popped the balloon.

"Pretty cool, right?" She smiled. "It's really easy with a little practice. I bet you'd be better than me."

She handed him the quiver and the bow.

"Remember how I held it? Hold the bow in your left hand, and put the arrow on the notch."

Link took the bow into his left hand, just like Romani said, but it felt shaky and uncomfortable.

"You don't look so good holding it like that. Hold it tighter."

Link tightened his grip on the bow. He did his best not to show his discomfort, and lifted the bow towards the closest target he could find: a balloon floating in front of a nearby tree. He pulled an arrow out of the quiver, held it in his right hand, and clasped it onto the noticeable nick carved in the center of the bow.

"Keep your eye on the target," Romani said confidently. "Pull the string back with the arrow, and fire!"

He swallowed hard, pulled on the string as hard as he could and released. The arrow flew slowly, wobbled in the air, then and fell limply several feet in front of the target.

They stared at the fallen arrow for several seconds before Romani burst out, "What was that?! You did everything I said. What happened?"

Link looked at her and shrugged.

"Maybe you just need to practice. I wasn't very good the first time, either. Try again."

Link lifted the bow once more, aimed at the same target, and tried again, with the same result.

"Keep trying, Link. I know you'll get it!"

After emptying, refilling, and emptying the quiver again, Link still hadn't hit the broad side of the tree. All of the fired arrows laid pathetically on the ground in front of them. None of them got close enough to hit the balloon, and some hadn't even made it halfway. Romani sat on the ground, stupified.

"Well I'm obviously not an archer," Link suggested, scratching his back. "Maybe we can find Malon and see what she's doing instead."

"I don't get it," Romani cupped her chin in her tiny hands. "You did everything exactly the way I said. We even tightened the bowstring and everything. "What could be wrong?"

Link heard the sound of wood clunking on the ground, followed by a mumble of annoyance. A tall man with a crew cut, a white tunic and a green waist belt, was carrying a bundle of firewood over to the tiny house. A terrier nipped his heels and yapped loudly.

"Hi, Fado!" Link called out, waving his hand up high. The man looked up, attempted to wave back, and lost the load in his arms. The dog darted out of the way as the wood clattered to the ground, yipping as it went. Fado groaned and bent down to pick up the logs. Link ran over to help.

"Sorry I made you drop the firewood," he said, filling his arms with as much wood he could carry.

"Oh, you didn't make me drop it. Thanks for helping."

They carried the wood together to the house and placed it by the front door.

"Didn't expect you to be here with Talon today."

"Malon's here, too. Talon's letting us handle the business in Ordon while he goes to Hyrule."

Fado scratched his head.

"Aren't you two a little young to be going to Ordon by yourselves?"

"Malon's two years older than me. She can write really well, and Talon says I'm stronger than most kids my age."

Link flexed his little arms and grinned.

"And we're going with Cremia, too, so she can help us."

"How old are you now?"

The terrier came back and sniffed Link's feet. He picked it up and held it in his arms.

"I'm nine years old, sir."

"Already? Seems like yesterday you were only five or six."

Cremia's voice rang out.

"There you are, Fado!"

She walked over quickly to where they were standing.

"I went to look for you near the chopping block, but I couldn't find you."

"Sorry about that, Ms. Cremia. Guess I got a bit distracted."

"No worries. Talon and I need your help getting his milk boxes onto our cart so we can take them with us to Ordon. Then we're gonna see what we can get fixed around here."

Cremia noticed Link standing to the side with the dog in his arms.

"Uh oh," she smiled. "Looks like one of them got out. Where's Romani?"

"She's over there."

He pointed to where Romani was still sitting deep in thought. She still hadn't noticed any of them.

"I think she's mad because I can't fire arrows very well."

"She doesn't look mad to me. Why can't you fire arrows?"

"I don't know," Link's voice lowered as he spoke. "Romani's been helping me, and she's really good at it, but I can't hit a target no matter how hard I try."

"Can't be," Cremia grinned. "Not everyone can be a marksman, but anybody can fire an arrow."

She took the dog from Link's arms.

"Fado, take this rascal back to the racetrack where he belongs, then go find Talon and give him a hand if you can. He isn't too far from the track. I'll be along in a bit."

Fado took the dog and walked off. Cremia took Link by the hand walked over to where Romani was sitting. When she noticed them approaching, her head snapped up.

"What's going on? I thought you had to work today."

"I'm gonna help you out," Cremia said, then stooped down and picked up the bow.

"Here, Link. Go get some of those arrows, and show me what you're made of."

Link took the bow, picked up a few arrows, then took his stance where he had before. He hadn't minded when it was only Romani and him, but now with Cremia watching him intently, he felt nervous, and it showed; his hands trembled, and so did the bow and arrow with them. He pulled back with all his might and let go.

The arrow flew three quarters of the way toward the target before it flopped to the ground. Link and Romani both turned to see what Cremia thought, but she said nothing for a few moments. She stared at the bow in Link's hand with an analytical look on her face.

Finally, she said, "Try it again."

Link grew more frustrated with every second. He took another arrow, notched it again, and fired again, and the result was the same. This time, it took longer for Cremia to respond, but when she did she spoke with more certainty.

"One more time, Link. I think I know what the problem is, but I want to be sure."

By now, Link's face was burning red. All he wanted was to quit, stop humiliating himself, and do anything else, even if that meant working instead of playing. Anything was better than having Cremia watch him fail over and over.

"Just let me hit it once!" He thought to himself. "Just once, and I'll never touch another bow in my life! I hate this so much!"

He took a deep breath and notched one more arrow against the bow. The bow shook more heavily now than ever. He tried to focus on his target, pulled back on the string as hard as he could, and squeezed his eyes shut.

As he released the arrow, it scraped roughly against his right hand, making him drop the bow. The arrow fell to the ground and the bow snapped back and struck Link square between the eyes.

"Aagh!" He cried out, slapping his hands over the spot. Romani and Cremia ran to him.

"Link! Are you ok?"

Romani bent down to see, but Link turned away, rubbing the spot hard.

"Let me see, Link."

Cremia lightly put her hand on his shoulder. After a moment of hesitation, Link turned around and lifted his face toward her, but kept his gaze to the ground. She lifted his bangs out of the way and pressed her cool slender fingers against his forehead.

"Ow," he mumbled.

"It's a little red," she declared. "But that's about it. It won't even need an ice pack. You'll be okay."

Link sniffed and wiped face face with his sleeve.

"But it looks like more than just your forehead was hurt," she said soothingly, and wrapped her arms around him. Link tried his hardest not to meet her gaze. Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Link, look at me."

He stared hard at the ground, a pained frown on his face, then looked up at her. Romani hid behind Cremia and watched in silence.

"I know it's hard, and not everyone gets it the first time, but you can't give up."

Cremia clasped her hands on his shoulders, looked straight into his eyes, and spoke so seriously that Link's hurt pride quickly dissipated.

"Sometimes, it's so hard to run this ranch. There's so much that needs to be done that I never even knew needed to be done. My and Romani's are gone now, and sometimes it feels like I've been left with a burden that I cannot bear alone. There are times I'd like nothing more than to give up. But then, I remember that I'm not alone."

She released his shoulders, reached over to Romani, and held her tightly.

"I have my little sister, and Fado, who's been such a huge help. And I have Talon and Ingo who've looked out for us, and I have Malon and you, Link. I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

Link looked thoughtfully at the ground. Cremia put her hands on his shoulders again.

"The point is, no matter how hard it is, there will always be people who want to help you, and you'll never be alone. But they can't help you if you give up, so you have to always try your hardest, and rely on the ones you love to make it through."

She started laughing, "I'm sorry. I know this doesn't have much to do with archery, but I can't help it. Try once more, but this time, hold the bow in your right hand instead of your left."

"But that's the wrong hand!" Romani interjected. "If he does it with his right hand, it'll be even worse than before."

"Maybe," Cremia smiled. "Maybe not."

Link didn't understand why Cremia wanted him to use the bow with the wrong hand, and he felt a little embarrassed hearing her talk like that, but he appreciated what she said, and was willing to try again.

He picked up the bow with his right hand. To his surprise, his grip was much steadier now. He took the arrow, aimed, licked his upper-lip, and fired one last time. The arrow flew swift and true to its path, pierced the balloon, and stuck itself in the tree behind.

"Holy cow!" Romani shouted, running over to the tree. "I've never seen an arrow fly so fast! Cremia, how did you know?"

"I did a bit of archery when I was your age. It wasn't much more than playing around, but I still learned a thing or two."

"I don't get it," Link said, gaping. "How did I get so good just by switching hands?"

"I noticed your grip on the arrow was much tighter than it should've been, but it was when you let go of the bow that I knew for sure. Link, did you know you're left-handed?"

"No," he said quietly. "I didn't."

"Look at this thing!" Romani shouted. She placed a foot firmly on the tree and yanked at the arrow as hard as she could, with both hands clasped tightly around it.

"I don't think I can get it out! It's in way too deep!"

She gave one last hard yank, but her foot slipped off. She yelped and fell flat on her back.

"I wouldn't bother," laughed Cremia. "You won't get it out any time soon. Don't fire any arrows at the trees Link, unless you want to lose more of them. I need to go back and help Talon, so you two have fun, okay?"

She walked back toward the racetrack where Fado and Malon were now loading milk boxes from one wagon to the other. Malon could be heard shouting, "Dad! You fell asleep again!" Romani picked herself up off the ground and approached Link.

"That was awesome!" she exclaimed. "You're a better shot than I am! Have you ever done archery before?"

"Um, no."

"You should be showing _me_  how to shoot! You're amazing, Link!"

"I don't know about that," he mumbled, blushing.

"Now that you've gotten the hang of it, let's make it more interesting."

"How do you mean?"

"Hit as many of the targets as you can in two minutes."

"Two minutes?! But there's so many balloons, and they're all over the place! That's not nearly enough time!"

"You don't have to hit all of them. I have a timer we can use. C'mon, let's go get the rest of the arrows."

After retrieving the arrows, and after Romani retrieved her timer, they decided to make the ranch's main entrance as the starting point. They stood under the main gate, Romani holding the timer in one hand and raising her other up to signal. Link had the quiver strapped on his shoulder, and held the bow tightly in his right hand. He leaned forward, ready to make a mad dash.

"On you mark… get ready… Go!"

Link took one step, tripped over a rock, and fell flat on his face. Romani jumped up and down.

"Get up! Hurry up! Don't waste time!"

He picked himself off the ground without bothering to brush the dirt off, and launched forward. He took off toward for the first target. Without stopping, he aimed and fired, then ran off for the next one before the balloon even popped.

"Keep going! You're doing great!"

It wasn't long before every balloon laid in tattered remains across the pasture. Romani clicked the timer's button on the last balloon's pop, and ran towards Link, who had fallen onto his back into the grass. Breathing heavily, he gasped, "How did I do?"

Romani glared at the timer, and said nothing.

"Well?"

"Two minutes and thirty-seven seconds."

"Aww, I didn't make it in time."

"Link, I can't even hit  _half_ that many targets in that much time!"

She threw her hands in the air.

"I was just kidding when I said to do it in two minutes! You're the best archer I've ever seen, and you're just a kid like me! I bet you could outdo any of the Royal Knights at Hyrule City! Are you sure you've never tried archery before?"

"I was just doing it with the wrong hand a moment ago. Yes, I'm sure."

Romani frowned, "I don't believe you."

"I swear I've never done it before! Today was my first time!"

"But you're so good at it! How is that even be possible?"

"How should I know?!"

Link laid on the ground and stared up at the sky. The clouds had grown darker, and hung ominously over the ranch.

"I just don't know," he whispered.

"Looks like it's going to rain again," Romani said with a twinge of irritation. "We'd better pick up the balloon pieces or else Cremia will get mad at me. We can go hang out at the racetrack after if you want."

He agreed, and stood up. They went together to fetch the arrows, but not before the rain fell for the second time that day. The rain had soaked them to the bone by the time they finished gathering the arrows and throwing away the broken balloons. The others barely finished packing the milk when the rain began. Malon joined Link and Romani in the house while Cremia, Fado, and Talon brought the animals into the barn, then raced into the house.

"What do we do now?" Malon asked, wringing out her wet hair. "We can't do any renovations in the rain."

"That rain is going to keep us from going anywhere," Cremia said, shutting the door tightly behind her. "And it doesn't look like it's stopping anytime soon. I think we're stuck here for the night."

She went to work setting buckets under the leaks in the roof.

"I think I can make it back to the ranch okay."

Talon grabbed a towel from one of the shelves and started wiping down his arms.

"A little rain never hurt nobody. Sorry we didn't get to fixin' up the place any."

"There's no way I'm letting you go back out there. It's too long of a trip back, and you'd catch a cold before even you made it halfway. You're staying right here."

"I can't stay here tonight! I gotta head for Hyrule City tomorrow mornin', and there's no way I can make the trip from here."

"Let's just see what happens with the rain," Fado interrupted, looking out the window. "I'm not so sure it'll rain like this the whole day through."

"In the meantime," said Cremia, "There's not much to do except make ourselves comfortable. Fado, can you get a fire started while I see what kind of grub I can cook up?"

"Good idea." Talon rubbed his empty belly. "We didn' have anything for breakfast this mornin' before we left, and it's past lunch."

A loud growl suddenly filled the room, and everyone looked for its source. Link turned bright red, slapped his arms around his stomach and backed away, making everyone laugh.

"I'll help you, Cremia!" Malon volunteered.

"Then let's get to work. We've got three hungry men who need feeding!"

Cremia and Malon marched into the kitchen together. Unfortunately for the others, there wasn't much to do. Fado retrieved some of the driest firewood from outside and built a little teepee of wood in the fireplace. The fired roared and warmed the house, leaving Fado nothing to do but sit at the table and twiddle his thumbs while staring at the clock. Talon sat back in the rocking chair, and in no time at all, was snoring loudly. Link and Romani sat on the carpet in front of the fire, watching the flames crackle and burn in silence.

Outside, the rain crashed against the bush and weed-ridden ground. It beat down against the few trees standing in the pasture and anything else sitting out in the open. The dirt path suffered the most; each giant drop of rain splashed more mud up until the dirt path was a thick, slopping river. The rain quickly filled the buckets Cremia had set out, so Link and Fado worked together to empty them outside while Romani cupped the dripping water from the leak in her hands, until they brought the emptied bucket back and moved onto the next one.

Malon popped her head out from the kitchen door.

"Cremia says lunch is ready."

Link put down the last bucket underneath the last leak and stretched. He yawned while Romani poured the water from her hand into the bucket. Malon walked out of the doorway and approached her snoring father.

"Darn it, Dad, you fell asleep again." She grabbed one of his giant hairy arms and struggled to pull him out of the chair, but to no avail.

"We can't start eating without him," Romani said as she wiped her wet hands on her dress. "He's the one who was saying how hungry he was."

"Don't worry. I know the one thing that always wakes him up."

Malon grabbed a large towel and wrapped it around her head.

"You guys can start without me. I'll be there in a minute, and so will Dad."

She opened the door and stepped outside, closing it behind her.

"What did she mean by that?" Romani asked Link.

"I'm not sure. You and Fado can go. I'll wait here for her."

"She said not to wait, though."

"It's okay. You go ahead." Link sat down in the chair across from Talon and watched the door.

"Let's go, girl," Fado stood up from the table. "I bet you're just as hungry as the rest of us."

Romani looked back at Link one last time before following Fado into the kitchen. Link listened to the sounds in the kitchen, of plates clattering and Cremia saying loudly, "Now now, Fado. Children first." The front door opened wide, and Malon came in with a cucco in tow. Link backed away instinctively.

"What's that for?"

"I just said, to wake up Dad. I thought you would've started without me."

Link took another step back. Malon held the cucco next to Talon's head and gently pulled it's tail feathers. The cucco shrieked loudly, and Talon jumped up in his seat.

"What in tarnation?!"

"Dad, you fell asleep again! This is the third time today!"

"What? Oh, right right. Sorry sweety. I just ain't as young as I used to be. I get tired so often nowadays."

"Well, come on. It's time to eat. I gotta take this cucco back to the barn. I'll be there in a minute."

Malon, still with the towel on her head, went back outside with the cucco under her arm. Talon slowly rose from the rocking chair.

"I tell ya, Link," he groaned. "Sometimes I don' know what to do 'bout that child. She's more of a woman than she lets on."

Link shrugged.

"Never mind, boy. Let's go eat."

Link and Talon joined the others in the kitchen, and Malon soon followed. While they ate at the table, Romani chattered away about Link's archery feats, and the others listened intently. Link sat silently eating his food and paid no attention. Whenever anyone tried to ask him anything, he didn't respond.

"We couldn't even pull the arrow out of the tree," Romani recalled. "He'd fired so hard that it won't come out!"

"Now how'd a nine year old boy manage that?" Fado scratched his head.

"Wow, Link!" Malon exclaimed. "You never told me you were an archer."

Link stared emptily at his food.

By the time they finished lunch, the rain had slowed to a light drizzle and the clouds dispersed; not completely, but enough for Talon to go home. He prepared for his trip back while everyone huddled around his carriage.

"Please be careful on the way," Cremia urged him. "The rain makes that path very dangerous sometimes."

"I'll be fine. I made it through the rain gettin' here an' I can make it back."

"I can escort you back to the gate," Fado suggested.

"It's a bit of a walk back."

"I'll be alright."

"Take these with you."

Cremia presented a large blanket and a basket full of bread and cheese. Talon took both gratefully.

"Thank you, mah dear. Wish I could've done more to help while I was here."

"It's no trouble. You've done more than enough. I'll take good care of your kids while you're in Hyrule."

"I'm glad ta hear it. Link. Malon."

He put his two giant hands on each of their shoulders.

"You two take care of each other, an' make sure you finish what needs ta get done in Ordon, ya here?"

"Yes, Dad."

"Yes, sir."

"'Specially you, Link. It might seem a long way off, but your gettin' to be a man. Take care of Malon while it's just the two of you, got it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alrighty then. Best be on my way."

"Good luck, Mr. Talon!" Romani waved goodbye.

"An' good luck to the rest of ya."

Talon climbed up into the driver's seat, took hold of the reins, gave a strong "Hyaah!" and set off.

"Bye Dad!"

"Take care, sir!"

They waved and shouted goodbye as he drove farther away, with Fado sitting in the passenger seat. When he approached the main gate, Talon dropped him off and continued on his way. While Fado walked back, shielding his head with his hands, Link and the girls waited for him.

"Link, Malon?"

They both turned their heads towards Cremia.

"We had a few setbacks this morning, so Fado and I will have to work for the rest of the day. We won't be able to leave for Ordon until tomorrow morning."

"Aww. I was hoping to see Ilia tonight."

Malon folded her arms and pouted.

"How early do we have to leave?" Link asked.

"First thing, bright and early."

He groaned. It would be the second morning in a row he'd wake up especially early.

"Nothing like working on a ranch, huh?" Cremia ruffled Link's hair.

"Will you guys be okay working in the rain?"

"We'll be okay, but you three need to stay inside while we work. I know it's boring, but I don't want any of you getting sick before we leave. I'm sure you can find something to do."

Fado came up the path and reached the house.

"Time to go back to work while we still can," Cremia told him. "I want to get as much done before the rain comes back."

She and Fado headed into the barn while Link, Malon, and Romani walked back into the house.

"Link, you have to tell me what happened!"

"Huh?"

He noticed the anxious look in Malon's eyes.

"When you were shooting, how did you do it? I don't know much about archery, but even I know its way too hard to hit that many targets in that much time. There's no way a kid like you could do it! It's a lie, isn't it?"

"Um, no?"

"No way! That can't be true!"

"It's true!" Romani blurted.

Malon turned her attention to her, while Link's gaze went to the fireplace. He slowly approached it and watched the flames dance before his eyes.

"I saw him do it with my own two eyes!"

"Yeah right!" Malon argued back.

"Why would I lie? Link can do it, I know he can! If it was a lie, I'd have said so!"

"Why would you do that?"

"Because I hate him!"

Link, who'd ignored their arguing until then, looked over at Roman with a blank look on his face.

"I hate you, Link!" she repeated. "When Cremia works on the ranch with the stuff that she won't let me do, I have nothing to do but fire arrows. I've gotten so good at it because of all the time I spend on it. But you!"

Romani stood as close to Link as she could and glared at him. When he tried to back away, she followed him.

"You say you've never done a bit of archery in your entire life, and all of a sudden you're better at it than anybody, including me! It's not fair!"

She started crying, and wiped her eyes with her balled-up fists.

"It's not fair, I tell you!"

Link opened his mouth, but all the came out was a garble that neither she nor Malon understood.

"Forget it! Just go away!"

Romani took off upstairs and slammed the bedroom door shut behind her. Malon watched her go.

"Great, Link. Look what you did! Couldn't you at least have said something, like sorry? Link?"

Malon turned around just in time to watch Link collapse to the floor. She gasped, knelt down, and started shaking him by his shoulders.

"Link? Are you ok? Wake up, please! Link! LINK!"

His blue eyes laid wide open, glazed and unfocused. Link made no sound, and moved only when Malon shook him. Malon felt her stomach quiver, stood up, and slammed the front door open.

"CREMIA!"

Cremia exploded out of the barn.

"Malon! What's wrong?!"

Malon ran over to Cremia and grabbed her apron, bursting into tears.

"It's Link! I don't know what happened! He just fell down on the floor in a heap! His eyes are open so I thought he was faking, but he won't move or say anything! I think something's wrong with him! What do we do?! Please help him!"


	5. Ordona 4: Milk Road

_The biggest fire Link had ever seen roared angrily before him and surrounded him on all sides. It weaved around him convulsively, like a giant howling fire dragon, and shot through his chest. He beat his hands at his clothes to put out the flames, but found there were none on him._

_He circled to his left and saw a dark castle burning to the ground. Screams for help rose from behind its walls and thick smoke billowed into the sky, painted black against the growing fire. Link looked on in horror as the looming castle was devoured by the inferno._

_He turned to run, but found himself face to face with Lon Lon ranch, consumed by flames. Horses ran wildly away from the ranch, running past him and nearly into him. He stared up at his home as it burned up before his eyes. He heard a familiar voice screaming in pain._

_MALON!_

_He ran toward the house, but a jut of flames sprang up and blocked his path, and the ranch was engulfed in one huge swallow. Link fell to his knees with hot tears seeping down his cheeks, and watched as the flames died away. Not even a speck of ash was left of the ranch. No matter which direction he looked, there was nothing but darkness and silence._

_This can't be real. It's just a dream. Nothing but a dream._

_It isn't a dream._

_Link smashed his hands against his face and cried. He cried until he heard thunder rolling. He moved his hands away from his face, and was cascaded by sudden falling rain. In his peripheral vision, he saw a flash of lightning crash in the sky, and realized he was standing before the same castle he'd watched go up in flames. It stood tall and erect, as though nothing happened. The clouds overhead slathered the sky a ghost's blue, and another bolt of lightning lit up the sky._

_As Link stood before the castle's gates, he heard chains clanking together, and noticed the castle's drawbridge being lowered. It fell with a thud across the moat. No sooner did this happen did Link hear the clip-clopping of a horse's shoes on a stone road. A white mare appeared out of the thick rain and headed straight for the drawbridge, tearing forward at top speed. He barely managed to jump out of the way before the horse crossed the bridge and galloped away from the castle._

_Mounted on the horse was a tall dark woman with silver hair, and a girl his age in a glowing violet dress. The girl looked back towards Link, and swung out her arm. He heard splashing behind him and turned to look in the moat, but couldn't see past the rain drops. When he looked harder, he saw something shining in the bottom._

_A harsh whinny rang up behind him and made him jump. He whirled around and saw a huge black horse standing on the drawbridge, and sitting in the saddle was the biggest man Link had ever seen in his life; a dark man with broad shoulders and fire in his eyes. The man looked in the direction the white horse had gone, but then turned to face Link. Link froze to his spot, paralyzed by the man's direct gaze._

_The man lifted his hand and a bright light appeared at his fingertips. Link only enough time to gasp before he was engulfed in light and excruciating pain. He cried out as he felt himself being thrown back._

"NO!"

Link was sitting straight up in bed, his arms extended out, a cold sweat across his face and rigid body. He gasped for breath, and found he could move again when he brought his open hands back, gazing at them.

He suddenly noticed Malon was clinging to the wall in front of him.

"Where am I?" he whispered.

"We're on Romani Ranch, remember?"

Cremia sat in a chair next to the bed and Romani knelt by his pillow. The sound of heavy footsteps thumped from the hall, and Fado appeared at the door.

"I heard shouting! Is he awake?"

"Not so loud," Cremia shushed him. "Yes, he's awake."

"What happened?" Link gasped.

"You fell into a trance," she explained.

Malon peeled herself off the wall and sat on the bed.

Link wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was exhausted and trembling violently.

"You'd better lay back down."

Cremia gently pushed him back into bed and pulled the covers he'd thrown off over him.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Fado. "Can we go to Ordon with him like that?"

Cremia didn't answer.

Link stared up at the ceiling and noticed the room was dimly lit. A weak orange glow peered in from the window.

"What time is it?"

"Almost sundown."

"But what about the ranch? I thought…"

"It's okay, Link. You're more important."

Cremia placed her hand on his forehead.

"You have a bit of a fever. I'll bring in some ice for you, okay? Get some rest. You two."

Malon and Romani sat at attention.

"Don't bother him too much."

Cremia stood up and walked out, with Fado following behind. When they left, Romani finally spoke. She pressed her hands into Link's pillow.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was mad because you're so much better at shooting than me. I didn't mean to make you faint!"

"You yelled at me?" Link asked weakly. "When?"

"It was right before you collapsed," Malon said, moving closer. "Don't you remember?"

"No. The last thing I remember was looking into the fireplace, and then everything went black."

"Did you even hear Romani yell at you?"

"No. I'm sorry. I didn't know you were mad at me."

Link looked at Romani, and saw she was taken aback. Malon got off the bed and sat in Cremia's chair.

"Link. You saw something again, didn't you? Just like when you disappeared in the forest yesterday."

Link peered up at the ceiling again. All he could think about was…

"I saw a dark man with fire in his eyes. He burned down our ranch, and Hyrule Castle, too. With everyone inside."

Romani gasped, "What a horrible nightmare."

"Did you see anything else?" asked Malon.

"I can't remember," Link rubbed his head. "I'm so tired."

Cremia came back in with a wet towel and a bag of ice in her hand.

"Here. Keep it on your forehead."

She placed the towel down on Link's brow first, and then the bag of ice. He shivered under its chilly touch.

"It's cold," he moaned.

"I know, sweety. Try and get some rest. Girls, it's time to go."

"But-"

"No buts. Link needs rest."

The girls reluctantly left his bedside and followed Cremia out of the room.

"Please don't go," was what Link wanted to say, but had no energy left. He heard them ask something, and heard Cremia respond with, "We'll see how he is tomorrow morning, and go from there." He heard shuffling as they walked down the hall, and then silence.

His thoughts went back to the horrible man from his nightmare, and he was filled with more dread than he'd never experienced in his life. Nothing he'd ever experienced in his life had prepared him for the fear he felt when seeing him.

"Please don't let me see him again."

He turned to lie on his side, but the pack of ice rolled off and fell onto the floor. He reached down, picked it up, and put it back on his head. He rolled onto his back and didn't try changing position again.

"I don't ever want to see him. Even if I have to stay awake all night, I never want to see him again."

But he didn't stay awake. Instead, the orange light from the setting sun slowly faded away, taking Link's consciousness with it. He drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Link stirred, opened his eyes, and sat up in bed. He looked out the window beside the bed, and saw that night had fallen. The clouds covering the sky earlier had disappeared, and were replaced by twinkling stars that lit up the room.

On the nightstand next to his bed were the melted ice pack and towel. There wasn't much else in the room, though if there was, it was hiding in the shadows where the starlight couldn't reach. Link felt loads better, and was grateful. Though he was raw and sluggish for sleeping at an odd hour, he didn't feel hot or feverish anymore, and his shivering had dissipated. All in all, he was composed and rested.

He threw off the covers and placed both feet firmly on the ground. As he stood, he noticed something else on the nightstand; his ocarina. He picked it up and held under the light of the window. The pink-tan color gleamed silver in the starlight.

"Saria…"

Link stuffed the ocarina into his pocket and walked towards the door. He lifted his hand to turn the handle when it suddenly opened on its own. Link halted as the person on the other side tiptoed in.

"Link!" Romani spoke in a hushed tone. "Sorry, I hope I didn't wake you."

"It's okay, I was already awake."

"I came to check on you. How are you feeling?"

"A lot better, but why are you checking on me in the middle of the night?"

"To see if you were awake, and if you could help me."

"With what?"

" _Them!_  The ones I told you about, remember?"

Link recalled as best he could the day before.

"Not really," he finally answered. "I don't think you told me anything about them. Just that they come and steal the cows every year."

"Really? I guess I forgot in the confusion. It doesn't matter now, since they'll be here soon. Will you help me?"

Romani laughed nervously.

"It's not like you have anything better to do now that you're awake, right?"

Not really, he thought. Since he was awake when no one else was, he want to see if he could talk to Saria. He hadn't planned on twiddling his thumbs and waiting for morning, but he knew that if someone or some _thing_ was stealing the cows from Romani ranch, he had to do something, and Romani trusted him to help. Saria would just going to have to wait.

Before Link could give her his answer though, Romani began to cry.

"Huh?! What's wrong?"

"I can't do it by myself!" she sobbed. "Cremia has it hard enough, but she doesn't know anything about  _them_."

"What do you mean?"

"I've tried telling her before, but she doesn't believe me, so I've been fighting them off every year when they come to the ranch as best as I can, but I'm just a kid! They get stronger every year, and I can't fight them anymore! If they take the cows, Cremia and I won't have a ranch anymore! We'll have no place to go!"

She grabbed his sweater and cried onto his shoulder. An occasional hiccup interrupted her blubbering speech.

"Please, Link! I need your help. I know we're both just kids, but if we fight them together, maybe they'll go away for good this time. Please help me."

Since nine year old boys usually possess no knowledge for how to comfort weeping ladies, Link did the only thing he could think of, which in his case was perfectly timed.

"I'll help you."

"What?" Romani stopped crying and looked up at him.

"I promise. I'll help you protect the ranch."

Romani, still clinging to his shirt, looked silently at him and waited for his words to absorb. Then, she shocked him by wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders and kissing him on the cheek, causing him to turn ruby red.

"Thank you Link! Thank you so much!"

Link stammered a bunch of nonsense before she released him and headed outside.

"Let's hurry.  _They'll_  be here soon."

Romani left the room and hurried down the hall, while Link followed behind quickly.

"Don't make a sound," she whispered. "We can't wake my sister, or she'll stop us before we can stop them."

They tiptoed across the main living room together, and Romani carefully opened the door. When its hinges squeaked, they stopped short.

"Do you think anyone-"

"Shh!"

They waited, but when they heard no tell-tale creak of the floor boards of an approaching interceptor, they swiftly pushed the door to keep it from creaking again, but left it open behind them as they left.

A warm breeze passed through the ranch from the west. The ground was still soaking wet from the rain, but not a single cloud remained in the sky. Link could see every detail of the ranch in the starlight. Even in the dark, he could see just how rundown the place really was.

"Malon was right," he thought. "They really do need help."

"This way," Romani breathed. She led Link to the entrance of the barn, but stopped short.

"Oh no!"

"What? What's wrong?"

"The other bow! We never picked it up!"

The events of the previous morning ran through Link's mind. He recollected Malon leaving the bow on the ground as she'd left to help Talon and Cremia. Link searched the ranch with his eyes, but saw no trace of the bow in the bush-ridden and tree-filled field.

"What do we do? We can't both protect the ranch with only one bow."

Romani looked down at the bow in her hand, clutched it tightly, then held it out to him.

"Here."

"What?"

"Link, you're the best archer I've ever seen, and certainly better than me. If anyone can hold them off, it's you. While you're taking care of them, I'll find the other bow, and come help as soon as I get it."

"But what are  _they_? What am I even trying to stop?"

The breeze halted, and the ranch stilled as though time froze. A barely noticeable orb of bright yellow light fell from the heavens and plummeted to the earth. It looked as though it would fall with a clunk onto the ground, but stopped itself in midair. It hovered for a few moments, then began to whirl in the air all around the field. Link hadn't seen the orb of light, but Romani saw it immediately.

"There's no time, Link! They're coming right now!"

Link turned around and saw the orb a second before it disappeared and was replaced by the strangest creatures he had ever seen in his life.

"HOLY- What the heck are those?!"

"Don't let them get to the barn no matter what! Hurry!"

Without thinking, Link ripped the bow from Romani's hand.

"Take these, too! Hurry!"

Romani hastily removed the quiver from her shoulder and strapped it around his own shoulder. She took off for the center of the field, ignoring the creatures as she went, and knelt down in the grass, feeling around with her fingers.

The ghastly creatures took no notice of Romani and hovered steadily towards the barn. To Link, they looked like ghosts; big purple ghosts with sharp claws and black eyes. He didn't have time to get a good look at them, because they were already approaching the barn faster than he had anticipated. He ran while pulling an arrow out of the quiver.

One of Them had nearly approached the barn door when Link attacked it, shooting an arrow straight into its face. The purple beast reacted in horror to its wound, and exploded into a million vanishing pieces. Without stopping to watch, Link readied the bow and took off for the next alien invader. Twenty or so had infiltrated the ranch, and had their grotesque claws extended towards the barn. They hummed loudly, like angry hornets. Their buzzing hurt Link's ears.

Link sidestepped to his right and aimed an arrow at one that was approaching the barn from the east side. As soon as he fired, the freakish creature yelped out, and burst. He had only taken down the first two and was running towards the next one he saw when he heard the sound of a dog growling. The others were still a ways away, so he ran behind the barn to find the dog, but instead found himself face to face with one of Them, so close to the barn that it could reach out with its claw and touch the wall.

Link staggered back at the sight of it, then pulled an arrow out of the quiver and dealt with it the same way he'd dealt with the others. As soon as he did, he saw the terrier run past him, barking loudly as it went. Without thinking, he followed the dog as fast as he could, and it led him to the closest one. Thankfully it wasn't as close to the barn as the others had been, but was still too close for comfort. With a flick of his arm and wrist, Link pulled out an arrow, nocked it to the bow, and destroyed the ghostly being in the blink of an eye.

"This isn't so hard," he thought. "There's a lot of them, but they're aren't as fast as me. There's no way they'll get past me."

He called out to Romani, "Have you found the other bow yet?"

"Not yet!" She called back. "I'll let you know!"

Link looked out at the field to see where she was, and did a double-take. Twenty or so of  _them_  were in the field, the same number they'd started with.

"Where did they come from? I thought I killed them!"

"They don't die!" Romani shouted. "They keep coming back until morning! We have to keep fighting them until the sun rises!"

Link's heart sank in his chest. It had been no trouble taking the first three down, and killing all of them once would've been a good workout, but killing all them over and over until morning?! Just looking at the ghastly creatures made him exhausted.

"Couldn't you have told me that sooner?!"

"Just keep going! I promise I'll be there to help soon!"

Without a moment to waste, Link pulled himself together and formulated a plan as best as he could. He'd be at this for well over three hours, so the most important factor would be conserving his energy. He figured that as long as he stayed in front of the barn, and kept away the ones that got too close, then he wouldn't have to run around the entire field disposing of the others and wouldn't use up all his energy. It would keep the arrows he fired at a retrievable distance for when he ran out, and it would keep him close enough to the dog, so that when the one that spawned behind the barn got too close, its growling would alert him immediately. Link grit his teeth and set to work.

One of Them had moved around the side of the barn and towards the west wall. Link heard its droning over the others, faced it head-on, and destroyed it with a particularly sharp arrow. Without taking a breath, Link streaked to the other side of the barn and destroyed another one from thirty feet away. In the corner of his eye, one of them floated steadily for the barn door, so he whipped out an arrow and shot it down without moving from his spot. One more headed straight in his direction and was dealt with in the same way. Link hadn't noticed the one hovering straight behind it, but the arrow he'd fired flew straight through the intended one and destroyed both in the process.

By now, Link's blood was pumping hard throughout his veins. A sweat began to break out all over his body, and goosebumps formed on the surface of his skin. His breathing grew heavier the longer he fought. Every alien ghost he destroyed made his heart beat faster out of exhilaration. By the time he went through the first round of all twenty, he didn't want to stop at all. He felt angry at himself when he had to stop to collect all the fired arrows, wishing he'd done so sooner. His anger only relented when he resumed shooting at them. In this way, Link destroyed them over and over again, without needing a break. He felt like his blood had been replaced by adrenaline as every one of them went down again and again. Half an hour, an hour, two hours, two and a half hours went by, and it was only now that fatigue finally began to set in.

After running around the ranch for so long, Link's reserves finally began to fail him. He now stumbled with nearly every other step he took, and found that his aim was faltering. It now took him at least two arrows to remove one of the ghouls. Meanwhile, Romani grew more dispirited as she combed the grass for the whole two hours and three quarters of another. Tears formed in her eyes, blinding her as she moved her now filthy fingers through the dry weeds.

In the east, the sky began to change into a familiar pink as the sun moved closer up from underneath the horizon. The air was thick with moisture from the previous day's raining, and the breeze that had wafted through the west earlier that morning picked up again.

Link fell to his hands and knees and heaved. He had a stitch in his side, and his body was drenched in sweat. He felt as if he would vomit.

"Romani!" He gasped. "Have you found it yet?!"

"I keep telling you! No!"

By now, both of them were weary and frustrated with themselves, each other and pretty much everything else.

"How can she possibly do this  _every_ year?!" Link panted, but didn't stay down long before the dog started going off like an alarm. He hastily stood up, and managed to destroy another one before he collapsed again.

"This is ridiculous!" He thought.

After hours of deterring the ghosts' attempts of reaching the barn, he had reached his limit. His endless campaign up until now had been incredible, even for a small boy, but he is by no means invincible, and all the time he'd spent trying to conserve his energy had done little to dissuade the Them. Slowly, but steadily and surely and, They had drained nearly all of Link's energy throughout their takeover of the ranch, through sheer patience and determination.

Romani was by no means any better off. She'd combed the field several times, but the other bow was nowhere to be found. It would have done little to help, for she was at her wit's end, and even if she did find the bow, she was just as physically drained as Link. What little spirit she had left was long gone, and she now only searched the grass out of absolute necessity.

Their only solace was that the sun was only minutes away from rising, but even that was of hollow comfort. Time ticked by so slowly for them that every second was a minute, and every minute another hour. Without a doubt, Link and Romani were ready to throw in the towel.

…

Malon stirred in the bed that was Cremia's, and slowly opened her eyes. Light shined gently through the window next to her, raising her from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes with loose fists, stretched, and smiled at the waking sun which had yet to rise.

"Good morning," she said out loud happily.

She didn't linger in the bed; Malon threw off the covers and shoved both of her feet into her boots which lay patiently on the hard wooden floor. She pulled her long and soft red hair out of her face and combed it with her fingers. Unable to find a single knot, she laughed softly. Her laughter faded, and was replaced by cool curiosity when she saw the empty bed on the other side of the wall.

"Maybe Romani went to check on Link. I bet he's not even awake yet."

She stood up and took a step forward, but when her boot squeaked loudly and creaked the wooden board, she pulled her boots off and strode in her bare feet across the floor. She tiptoed out the room and down the hall.

From the room across from hers, she heard Cremia's mellow breathing. Fado, however, snored loudly from the living room. She was surprised his snoring hadn't kept everyone else up all night.

She turned to the room down the hall, and saw the open door.

"Romani? Are you in here?"

She peered inside, and saw nothing but an empty bed.

"That's weird. Where are they? I hope Link's okay."

Not knowing what else to do, Malon headed back down the hall, and into the living room, where she noticed the ajar front door.

"Has that door been open all night?"

"Romani!" Link's voice rang from outside. "Have you found it yet?!"

His voice was shortly followed by Romani's.

"I keep telling you! No!"

"What are they doing out there?"

Now infinitely curious, she carefully stepped over Fado and his makeshift bed, and walked out the door. The sight that awaited her froze her to the spot the moment she stepped out of the house, and she did the one thing natural for any girl her age.

"AAAAAAAAGH!"

Fado's sleep was cut short, and he sat straight up off his makeshift bed on the floor. He staggered upwards in shock and surprise, then fell flat on his face, hitting his forehead on the fireplace's brick hearth. Cremia stormed out of her room, carelessly throwing on a robe.

"Malon! What's going on?!"

"What the heck  _ARE THEY_?!"

Fado, fiercely rubbing the bump on his head, stood up and trotted over to see where Malon was pointing. Cremia sprinted across the room to the front door and saw what was outside.

"Holy Mother of Hylia!"

What they saw was, of course, the matter the two other kids had been managing with about as much perfection as was expected. Gruesome creatures hovered menacingly across the field, while Link was squatting with his hands on his knees in front of the barn, gasping for air with a bow in his hand, and Romani was down on her hands and knees desperately searching through the weeds and bushes.

When Malon screamed, Link found himself staring straight at the house, and at the others' aghast expressions. One of the creatures edged dangerously close to Link and outstretched its claw toward him.

"Link!" Malon pointed towards the deathly being. "Watch out!"

Link lashed around, and within seconds the creature found itself penetrated with an arrow and destroyed.

Malon broke into a run, but Cremia grabbed her from behind before she got very far.

"Let me go!" She struggled against Cremia's grip. "They need help!"

"Fado! Go get Romani!" Cremia ordered.

He streaked out of the house and plucked Romani from the ground as if she was weightless. He carried her back to the house while she writhed and shrieked.

"Let go! Put me down!"

The dog yelped wildly and ran in little circles, so Link followed it. The droning of the alien ghosts grew louder and louder by the second as the sky grew brighter and brighter.

"Link!" Cremia shouted at him. "Get back in here!"

He ignored her calls as he ran around to the back side of the barn and disposed of the monster that spawned there once more.

"Let me go, Fado! They're gonna steal the cows!"

Romani kicked and screamed the whole time Fado held her captive, until one of her kicks landed and hit him in his privates. He dropped her and doubled over in pain. Romani literally hit the ground running and raced towards the field.

Link was heading back around the front of the barn and had aimed towards another one when a sharp jutting rock caught his foot. He fell and sprawled out on the ground, and as he fell he heard a loud crack erupt under his chest. When he picked himself up, the bow was snapped in half.

Malon finally managed to break free from Cremia's grip and raced towards Link. One of the ghastly monsters looked viciously at her, and swiped her up in one of its claws as she tried to run by. Romani had only begun to search through the fields again when she too was plucked up and held hostage.

"LINK! HELP!"

Romani resumed kicking and screaming, only this time in retaliation to the creature. The alien ghosts made haste for the barn, moving faster than they had in the last three hours. Link watched on in horror as the inevitable unfolded. The bright yellow orb, which had dropped Them off, now appeared over the barn, blew the roof off, and began levitating the cows and goats that were inside up and out. Cremia sprinted out of the house and raced after the monster holding Romani.

"LET GO OF HER!"

She beat against the alien ghost with her fists, but to no avail. Instead, it shoved her to the ground as it quickly hovered towards the barn.

As Link felt his hope go out the window, the dog streaked by him, planted its hindquarters on the ground not too far, and barked loudly. He tried to follow the dog, but staggered when his foot pained him. He looked down and saw blood flowing freely from a deep cut on his foot. The strap of his sandal had been slashed, and the shoe was now flapping about.

Fado recovered from Romani's kick and ran for the creature holding Malon. With one swift punch, he knocked the alien out of the air and sent it sprawling into the dirt. Malon fell out of its claw and fell flat on her stomach, but didn't stay there long. She hurriedly stood up and rushed to the spot where the dog was bouncing as it barked. Sitting on the ground next to the dog was the lost bow. She picked it up and hurled it as far as she could.

"Link! Catch!"

The bow sailed through the the air and fell with a clunk ten feet in front of Link. He limped over to it as fast as his foot would allow, and picked it up. The ghost carrying Romani was now inside the barn, along with all the others, and was ascending into the light, taking Romani with it.

"CREMIA! HELP ME!"

"ROMANI!"

Cremia fell to her knees and watched in despair, with tears falling freely from her eyes, as Romani writhed and shrieked and floated into the light.

"Please don't miss, please don't miss, please don't miss!" Link repeated over and over as he struggled to nock an arrow onto the bow.

"Please, oh, please don't miss!"

He aimed straight at the orb, winced, and fired.

The arrow flew straight toward the orb. It wavered in the air for a moment, and almost faltered. At the last second, it regained its path, and shot straight through the orb.

The minuscule orb detonated in an unbelievably-sized explosion. The cows and goats that had been absorbed sailed through the air in all directions, mooing and bleating in shock and pawing at the ground that wasn't there, until they hit the ground. Flopping onto their bellies, they picked themselves up, shook themselves off, and walked away in annoyance, but mostly unharmed. A few unlucky animals were sent flying into the outlying trees and beyond the ranch.

Romani plummeted like a rock into the barn, screaming the whole way down.

"I'm coming, Romani!"

Link ignored the pain in his foot as he sprinted toward the barn, slammed the door open, and dove to catch her. She landed right in his arms as they fell together into a pile of hay sitting in a corner, sending the needles flying everywhere.

"Ouch," Link groaned as he landed headfirst.

"Are you ok?" Romani asked as she tried to sit up, but sank back into the hay, so she decided to remove the needles from her hair instead.

"I'm fine. What about you?"

"Are you kidding?! I couldn't be happier!"

"Huh?"

Romani tackled Link, sending more hay flying out. She squeezed him tightly.

"You did it, Link! You saved our ranch!"

Cremia, Fado, and Malon ran through the barn door to find Romani lying on top of a very red Link in the hay.

"What is going on?!" Cremia screamed, beside herself.

Romani released Link and jumped out of the hay.

"I'll tell you what's going on! Link just saved the ranch!"

Link attempted to climb out of the hay until a sharp pain went through his foot, and he grabbed at it instinctively. Fado noticed Link's reaction immediately, looked down at his foot, and saw the blood from the cut.

"Cremia, maybe it'd be best if we get back inside."

Cremia followed Fado's gaze and saw the deep cut.

"Everyone, inside.  **Now**."

She spoke so firmly that no one dared to remain in the barn. Fado carried Link in his arms while Romani and Malon followed closely behind Cremia, and everyone marched back into the house under her order. Fado placed Link in the chair in front of the fireplace.

"Fado, start rounding up the loose animals. I'll be there in a minute."

Fado saw the pleading looks on the girls' faces, knowing that if he left they were sure to meet their doom at Cremia's hands. Alas, he had no other choice, so he shrugged his shoulders helplessly and headed outside. No one else said a word while Cremia went silently into the kitchen. Malon looked over at Romani with wide confused eyes, but Romani returned the same glance. They both turned to Link, whose hard gaze looked as though it would pierce the hardwood floor.

Finally, Malon whispered, "Are you okay, Link?"

His lips didn't move. He ignored them and continued his hard gaze at the floor.

"Are we in trouble?" Malon asked as low as her voice would allow.

"I don't know," Romani replied. "Cremia's never acted like this before."

Cremia came out of the kitchen carrying a first aid kit and a towel. She plopped down in front of the chair and went to work cleaning the cut and examining it.

"This is really deep. I'll have to give you some temporary stitches until we can get you to a doctor. Bear with me, Link."

She pulled out a thin wire and a sewing needle.

"If it hurts too much, bite down on this."

She handed the towel to Link, but when he took it, he left it in his hand instead of putting it in his mouth while Cremia pushed the needle in and closed the cut on his foot. When she finished, she wrapped cotton gauze around his foot, then put the tools, save the needle, back into the kit and moved Link's foot onto a nearby stool. She stood up and pointed a slender finger at the girls.

"No one leaves this house. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am," they promised nervously.

Cremia took the first aid kit and needle into the kitchen, then went outside to help Fado.

"Link?"

Romani sat by his side and tried to look into his eyes, but still he sat in the chair glaring at the floor. Malon stood up and whacked him across the back of his head.

"Ow! What was that for?!"

"What's the matter with you?! Everyone's worried about you and all you can do is sit in that chair and stare off into the distance! Can't you at least say something?"

Link looked at Malon angrily, but then relaxed his face.

"Sorry," he said. "I'm really tired."

"What happened out there, Link? What  _were_ those things?"

"Wasn't it incredible?" Romani clapped.

"Incredible?! It was stupid! He could have gotten hurt! He  _did_ get hurt! Look at him!"

Link tried to hide his bandaged foot in shame.

"He saved my life, Malon! And he saved the ranch, too!"

"What are you even talking about?!"

"Maybe we should wait until Cremia and Fado get back before we tell her," Link pointed out, his voice weak. "That way, everyone can hear it at the same time."

"Hear what at the same time? What's going on?"

"Link's right. I promise we'll explain everything, but we need to wait for Cremia and Fado to come back."

She was by no means satisfied, but Malon gave up and sat down in the chair beside Link's, and stared out the window, waiting for the adults to return. At last, the sun was rising. Malon was watching the sunrise when she heard snoring behind her. Link was sleeping soundly in the chair.

"What the heck?! How can he be sleeping at a time like this?"

"You should've seen him, Malon."

Romani moved even closer and carefully moved Link's hair away from his closed eyes.

"He was so brave."

"Do you like him or something?"

Romani stumbled back at the accusation.

"No! I was just thinking how cool he looked out there!"

"Whatever."

After that, Romani didn't go anywhere near Link, but stayed on the other side of the room. Malon watched outside for Fado and Cremia, until she finally saw them bringing back the stragglers. They left the animals to graze in the field and walked to the house. Cremia came in first and placed her hand on Link's shoulder, gently shaking him. He stirred in his seat.

"Hmm? What?" he asked half-wittedly.

"Sorry, Link, but you need to wake up."

"It's not his fault!" Romani suddenly blurted. "It's mine! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

Cremia stopped her short by putting her finger to Romani's lips.

"Just… tell me what happened."

Cremia sat in the chair beside Link's and waited for an explanation. Link and Romani looked helplessly at one another.

"Well?" she repeated.

They sighed and began as best they could. After a long explanation and a round of questions from everyone, Link and Romani managed to share the full pictures of that morning's experience with everyone else. Cremia was first to talk when they finished.

"So those things," she began. "were here to steal the animals."

"And you two were up since two this morning fightin' them off?" Fado finished her statement.

"Yes," Link replied.

"Link did most of the fighting though," Romani explained. "I was still trying to find the other bow when you guys came out."

"Romani?"

Cremia took her sister's hands in hers.

"Are these the things you told me about? The ones that attack the ranch every year?"

"Yes. I knew if I tried to fight them myself, I'd never be able to stop them. That's why I asked Link to help me. He didn't know until yesterday, and Malon didn't know anything. Please don't make them go home, Cremia!"

Romani started crying.

"None of you are in trouble, sweety. And I'm not mad either."

Cremia and Romani wrapped their arms around one another.

"I was scared, Romani. So scared that I'd lost you forever."

"Link saved me, though! Link's a hero!"

"If Link hadn't been here today, Cremia," said Fado. "Who knows what would've happened."

"I don't want to think about it," Cremia shivered. "Link?"

Link looked up at her, feeling rather incapacitated. Suddenly, he found Cremia giving him a hug so tight, it crunched his shoulders.

"Thank you," she sniffled. "You risked your life to save our little ranch, and my sister. I don't think there's anything I could ever do to repay you. I'll never forget this as long as I live."

He realized then that Cremia was crying.

"And you too," Cremia turned back to Romani and wiped her nose. "I'm so sorry I didn't believe you, Romani. I never once imagined you'd be telling the truth about such ugly evil creatures. I still don't want to believe it."

"Neither would I," Malon piped up. "If I hadn't been so scared, I'd be laughing right now. The idea of alien things coming to the ranch to steal cows and goats, and two little kids doing everything they can to stop them? No offense, but it's almost hilarious."

"That's why we're not going to tell your father."

"What?!"

Everyone in the room gaped at Cremia, as if she'd lost her precious marble collection.

"Not tell Talon?!" Falon raised his arms in disbelief. "Have you gone mad?!"

"Even if we told him any of this, I doubt he'd believe any of it, and he'd be liable to think we're all insane."

"The man's not blind, Cremia! He's gonna see that bandage on Link's foot, and he's gonna ask questions! And what are we gonna tell him about the roof on the barn, or rather the one that isn't there anymore?! We can't exactly blame it on bad weather! It's been bad, but not  _that_ bad!"

"I don't like the idea of hiding this from him either, but we don't exactly have many options. If you want to tell him yourself that monsters came down from the sky and tried to abduct our animals while two little kids fought them off using nothing but toy bows, that's fine by me."

Having lost the argument, Fado gave in.

"I guess I see your point, but what  _are_ we gonna tell him?"

"Dad's not gonna be happy when he sees that Link got hurt," Malon exclaimed. "And he definitely won't be happy if we don't tell him why."

"I'm afraid there's no helping that," Cremia shrugged. "Talon is well on his way to Hyrule by now, and we can't reach him from here."

"We still better think of something!" Romani retorted. "If he gets mad at us that Link got hurt, he might not let Link  _or_ Malon ever come back to our ranch!"

"I don't think he'd be that brash, but there's no helping that either. No matter what we tell him, he's going to be upset. Link is every bit his son as Malon is his daughter, and he'd be just as upset if she were the one who got hurt."

"Before we discuss anything else," Fado headed for the door. "Maybe we better start preparing for our trip. Despite everything that's happened, we've still got milk to ship."

"You are right, Fado," Cremia stood up from her chair. "I'll come up with a story, but it's time we salvaged what's left of this morning."

"What about Link?" Malon pointed out. "He can't walk like that."

"Yes I can!"

Everyone turned to Link.

"I can walk just fine!"

He got out of the seat before anyone could stop him and began walking around the room with perfect stature and pace.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Romani asked.

"No way! I can't feel it at all!"

"Are you sure you can walk, sweety?" Cremia extended her hand towards him in case he should fall.

"Of course I can!" He smiled brightly.

Cremia raised her eyebrow.

"Ok then. Why don't we start getting ready then?"

Fado left the living room and headed into his own room―where Link had slept the previous night―to change clothes.

"Romani, go see if you can let Malon borrow some of your clothes, okay?"

The girls left down the same hall, but turned into the room where they had slept. Cremia turned around, and noticed Link was staring sadly at the floor.

"What's on your mind, sweety?"

Link whipped his head up, jolted out of his train of thought. He took a moment to recollect himself.

"Do you think I'm weird?"

She raised her eyebrow again.

"Why do you ask?"

He looked down at the floorboards to avoid her gaze, but she smiled.

"No, I don't think you're weird. I certainly think you're accident-prone, but I also think that you are very brave and strong. I'd even go so far as to say that you remind me a bit of my father."

Link looked up at her in shock. It seemed to Cremia then that he scared.

"There's more to this than what happened this morning, isn't there?"

She sat down, and gestured for him to do the same.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know," he murmured.

"I promise not to think you're weird," she reassured him.

"Well, okay," he finally said.

He sat down in the chair next to hers, took a deep breath, and spilled his guts. It started slowly at first, but it wasn't long before his experiences came pouring out of him. He told her about all the dreams he'd had, the vision he'd received, all the things he'd seen in the forest, and everything that had happened to him. By the time he finished, Cremia had a very hard and serious expression on her face.

"Link… is this true?"

"I wish it wasn't," he whispered, and hid his head in his folded arms. "I wish it would all just go away."

"Does anyone else know about this?"

"I told Malon, and Talon and Ingo too, about the wolfos made of light. And I tried to tell Malon about what happened to me when we went into the forest, but she didn't believe me. I also told her about the ocarina, but I didn't tell her where I got it from. She also knows about the dream I had when I collapsed yesterday."

"Where's the ocarina now?"

"Right here."

Link pulled the ocarina out of his pocket and showed it to her. She gazed upon it, awestruck.

"Malon knows the most, but…there's so much she doesn't know."

"I get the feeling you don't know much about it either."

"Yeah…"

"I'll be honest Link. I wish I had the answers you were looking for, but I don't have the first clue as to how to help you through this. I'm just a simple farm girl. I wouldn't even know where to begin with that vision of yours."

"That's okay," he sighed, stuffing the ocarina back into his pocket. "It still felt nice to talk to someone about it."

"However…"

"What?" Link sat up.

"I think I know someone who can help."

"You do?"

"Do you remember Rusl at all?"

"I think so. He lives in Ordon, doesn't he? I remember seeing him around the village when we went last year."

"That's right. He's a blacksmith there, but he does a lot of traveling, and is wise beyond his years. He's picked up a lot of information during his travels, so the people living in Ordon, and even a few who don't, go to him when they need answers. I bet if you ask him nicely, he'd be happy to help you. And if he can't, he'd know someone who could. When you travel a lot, you tend to meet a lot of people."

"Do I have to tell him about everything?"

"He can't help you if you don't."

"Yeah but-" he frowned. "What if I tell him everything and he can't help me? What if I end up having to tell everyone I meet, just so I can find one person who knows what's wrong with me? Then everyone will know I'm a freak!"

"Link, listen to me."

Cremia firmly grasped his shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes.

"There is nothing wrong with you. You are exactly the way you're supposed to be. These dreams and visions that you're having don't make you weird, or a freak. If anything, they make you special. For all we know, your visions could be good things. It's up to you whether you want to talk to Rusl, but if you decide to, I'll be there to help. I promise."

"…Okay."

"We can talk later if you want, but for now…"

She plugged her nose and waved her hand in front of her face.

"I think you need a bath."

Link lifted up his arm and sniffed at his armpit, and was blown away.

"Aagh! I stink!"

"Fighting those things for three hours straight will do that. I'll show you to the bathroom."

Link had his bath while his foot was propped onto the side of the tub. Afterward, he put on a fresh change of clothes. Everyone pitched in with the morning chores so they could leave for Ordon sooner; Malon helped Cremia and Romani get the cows milked while Link, despite his impediment, helped Fado tend to the goats and bring in fresh firewood. The chores were completed before the sun went late into the morning. Clothing, food, and other necessities were packed and loaded onto the carriage.

"It's a good thing we got all the milk packed from yesterday into the carriage," Malon gratefully told Cremia. "Otherwise we'd be here all day."

"I think we're just about ready to go. Will you be able yo hold up here, Fado?"

Cremia climbed up into the driver's seat, taking the fastened reins.

"I think so. I'll take good care of the ranch while you're gone."

"Cremia, is it okay if I stay here?"

Link and Malon looked shockingly over at Romani.

"Why?" Cremia was just as shocked as they were. "Don't you want to go to Ordon with us?"

"I wanna be here in case those guys come back," Romani grinned confidently. "I'm pretty sure they won't ever show their faces here agian, but you can never be too careful."

"No! Absolutely not! You were almost taken away today, and you wanna fight those things  _again_?! There's no way I will knowingly let you put herself in danger like that!"

"But Cremia!"

Romani whined and stamped her foot. Link, who sat in the back of the carriage on top of one of the milk crates, spoke up.

"I thought you said they only attack once a year, Romani. What makes you think they might come back?"

"Yeah," Malon agreed. She sat in the seat beside Cremia. "And if they never come back, then you'll miss out on going to Ordon for nothing."

"Maybe, but…"

Romani looked over at Link, then gazed explicitly at the ground.

"Maybe she's right, Cremia," Fado spoke up. "She knows more about those things than any of us, and if they do come back, she'd be able to handle 'em, with my help. Besides, this way you've got one less kid to watch."

"I'd feel a lot better letting a professional handle this!"

"And who would that be, Cremia?" Fado asked with arms folded.

"I don't know!" Cremia rubbed her forehead. "I have a headache, and I don't want to deal with this. Romani, we don't have time to change our schedule. You're coming with us."

"Fine," Romani grumbled under her breath, along with something else that was incomprehensible.

"Fado, if anything  _does_ go wrong, see if you can get the animals moved over to the dogs' track, or someplace where they'll be safe."

"Will do, ma'am."

"Up you go, Romani."

Cremia reached down from her seat and lifted a sulky Romani into the seat beside Malon.

"We'll go out through the Milk Road exit. We'll be back in a few days."

"See you then!"

Cremia snapped the reins and set the horses at a canter.

"Bye Fado!" Link and Malon waved their hands as high as they could from their seats.

"See you later, kids!" Fado waved back.

The carriage rode slowly away from the ranch, and down the dirt path that was now thick mud. As they got farther from the ranch, short but steep rock walls slowly rose and stood on both sides of the wide road, and the farther they got from the ranch, the taller the walls grew. Soon, the carriage was passing through a canyon of clay and sandstone.

"Keep your voices down, everyone," Cremia murmured while looking up at the walls.

Malon leaned over in her seat towards Cremia.

"Cremia, how long will it take to get to Ordon?"

"It's usually half an hour or so, but with the roads like this from yesterday's rain, it'll take us a few hours."

"I'm sick of riding in carriages."

Link's voice came up from the inside of the carriage.

"At least you don't have to ride in the back!"

"Link, when we get to Ordon, we can talk to Rusl if you want."

"Okay."

"Who's Rusl?"

"Why does Link need to talk to him?"

Cremia didn't answer. With one hand on the reins, she hugged Romani and ruffled Malon's hair.

"Hey…"

Malon's hands went to her hair to put it back in order. Link laid across the milk boxes uncomfortably and stared up at the giant burlap cover of the carriage. He pulled the ocarina out of his pocket and looked deeply at it for a long time, before sleep overcame him.


	6. Ordona 5: Ordon Village

When Link awoke, he was staring into a foggy abyss. He jumped at the sight and whacked his head against a milk crate with a load crack.

"Ach!" He cursed under his breath, sat up and started rubbing the bump, but scraped his injured foot across the corner of another milk crate.

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" He hissed and tightly clutched his foot.

The pain in his head and foot ebbed away, and he became aware of the clickety-clack of the carriage's wheels. He heard Romani and Malon's voices in the front.

"Is it that rock down there?"

"For the last time, it's not a rock!"

"What else could it be? There aren't that many brown things out here."

"You're staring right at it and you don't even know!"

Cremia's voice interjected, "Not so loud, girls. I'm not comfortable crossing this canyon as is, and you're gonna wake Link."

"It's ok!" Link exclaimed as he crawled through the burlap cover. The sunlight reflected on the fog and blinded him.

"I was already awake."

"Malon, just tell me what it is. I give up already."

"It's the rope. You know, the one holding up the bridge so we don't fall and die?"

"Oh come on!" Romani scoffed. "That's way too hard."

"You were staring at the rope the whole time and you never once thought to name it. It should've been obvious."

"It's too obvious. That's what made it hard. Can I take my turn yet?"

"I'm bored. Let's do something else."

"Can I take a turn?" asked Link. "Before you quit?"

"As long as you do something easy," Malon answered. "You always pick hard things."

It didn't take Link long to pick his object.

"I spy with my blue eye … something red."

"Red?!" Malon cried. "What the heck, Link?!" There's nothing red out here!"

Romani leaned over the carriage and began searching the fog impatiently.

"Yeah there is," he corrected. "You just gotta look really hard."

"You were supposed to pick something that wasn't hard, Link!" She leaned next to Romani and searched the canyon with her. In the meantime, Link leaned over to Cremia.

"Are we there yet?"

"Almost. We're on the bridge just outside of the village. Once we cross, it's a short trip past the spring."

"Finally!" Link moaned. "Almost there."

"I know you must be tired of riding all day. I know I am. I want to get there and start doing some real work."

"Link," Romani gave up her search and pulled herself back into the cart. "Where is it?"

"Romani, don't lean over so far," warned Cremia.

"Can't you give us a hint?" Malon whined. "I have no idea what you're looking at."

"There's three of 'em," said Link. "And they're sitting in a row."

"That doesn't help at all!" Romani groaned, slapping her hands on her face. Malon noticed Cremia's cheeky grin.

"You know, don't you? Tell us!"

"I might have an idea," Cremia replied, chuckling.

"What in the world is out there that's red, sitting in a row, and there's three of them?"

"Give up?" Link grinned.

"We'll never get it in a million years," Malon threw her hands in the air. "Just tell us."

"It's your hair."

She squinted angrily at him, then slapped an open palm against her forehead in exasperation.

"Our hair?" Romani asked confusedly.

"Yeah, see?" He reached over and took a lock of Romani's hair in his hand.

"All three of you are sitting in a row, and you've got pretty red hair. See?"

Link smiled, but his smile faded when he realized Romani's face was turning the same color as her hair.

"What's wrong?"

She turned away, her face twisted in an awkward smile, and wrapped the lock of hair around her finger.

"What's with her?"

Link looked to Malon for an answer, but it was her turn to grin.

"You're so clueless," she snickered.

"Come on! Romani, you're not mad at me again, are you? I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," she whispered without looking at him.

"Are you sure? I didn't mean it."

He touched her shoulder, but she cringed.

"I'm not mad."

The words barely passed from her lips. Not knowing what else to do, Link retreated under the burlap cover and opened the back flaps to watch the canyon and bridge go by.

The sun shined brightly in the robin's egg-blue sky, clear of any clouds. The carriage crossed an ancient bridge of solid wooden planks, attached firmly to a bulky rope that stretched from one side of the canyon to the other. Below the bridge was an impenetrable fog, and the only objects visible through it were the skinny buttes erecting out of the thick miasma.

At the sheer drop, Link's heart fell into the pit of his stomach, so he pulled himself back inside and peeked through the front flap, in time to see the carriage cross the last section of the bridge onto solid ground. They hurried away from the canyon, onto the dirt path, and back into the forest.

They were in the forest for maybe a minute when Link noticed a left fork in the path, and made a split-second decision. He watched them approach the fork, then crawled over the crates to the back of the carriage, opened the burlap flap, climbed over the wagon, and dropped down onto his good foot. He waited until the carriage was farther off before taking the fork.

Link's feet crunched gently in the dirt as he walked. He had only taken a few steps down the fork before turning a subtle corner, and was blinded by sunlight reflecting on the water's surface. He used his hand to shield the light while letting his eyes adjust. The sound of running water filled his ears. A waterfall rushed down tall moss-covered rocks, and gathered in a clear pool to form the spring. Light glittered across the spring's glassy surface. Link could see through the clean water down to the bottom. The forest soil gave way to soft sand at the edge of the pool.

It was a year ago when Link last visited the Ordona Spring, and it was every bit as beautiful as he remembered. He took a step in the cool water and let it wash up against his feet. A warmth tingled across the cut in his right foot. He removed his sandals and was about to walk further in when he spotted someone.

"Ilia."

"Link?"

Nine-year old Ilia stood bent over in the center of the spring, wringing water from her blond, back-length hair. She wore a sleeveless shirt of white muslin, and tawny knickers that stopped halfway between her calves. She was barefoot, and soaked from head to toe.

She gazed attentively at Link with her almond-shaped, forest-colored eyes, and spoke in a voice smoother and sweeter than Lon Lon milk.

"I knew Talon was coming this year, but I didn't know you were."

"Uh…"

Link found himself at a loss for words when Ilia's smile lit up across her face.

"A-actually," he finally stammered, "Talon didn't come this year. Malon and I came with Cremia and Romani."

"Really? How come?"

"He sent us to do the shipping in Ordon while he went to Hyrule."

"I wish my dad would let me go places without him. Talon must really trust you."

Link couldn't help grinning sheepishly.

"Yeah well, he didn't have much choice this year. I guess he needs my help is all."

"Wow, Link." Her words were more like a singing murmur. "You must be a hard worker."

Link could feel his face burning. He hoped Ilia didn't see his blush in the bright light. She swept her hair back and took graceful steps toward him.

"You really are growing up, aren't you? Even though we're the same age, it feels like you're so far ahead."

"No way!" He sputtered. "The-there's no way I could compare to you in anything."

"What happened to your foot?"

"My…what?"

"You have a bandage on it."

"Oh yeah. I cut my foot while I was…"

Now he really was at a loss for words. He didn't know whether to tell the truth, look like an idiot and get in trouble with Cremia, or lie and feel horrible about it.

"…I fell."

"You cut your foot while you fell?"

Ilia's genuine concern was a better interrogation method to Link then Malon's angry glare or Talon's seemingly all-knowing eye. He struggled to find a good story in his head.

"I uh- I tripped on a sharp rock and I fell." It was technically true.

"May I see?"

Before he could stop her, she bent down and unwrapped the bandage.

"It looks fine to me. I can hardly see where you were hurt."

Link peered down nervously. Only a small scratch and stitches remained where the bone-deep cut was made a few hours ago.

"Are you sure you needed stitches for such a small scratch?"

"It wasn't that small this morning. It was a really big cut, and it was bleeding a whole lot."

"You only stepped into the water for a little bit. I didn't know the spring could heal wounds so fast."

"That's weird."

"It is. You don't want it to heal before you get these stitches out. You'd better not go in the water anymore."

Ilia carefully rewrapped the bandage around Link's foot and stood upright.

"Let's go to the village together. The others must be waiting for you."

Link nodded, then grabbed his shoes and followed after her in his bare feet to Ordon Village. They walked in unbearable silence. He thought desperately of something to say.

"We, um…" he finally began. "We have a new foal on the ranch."

"That's wonderful!" Ilia's eyes lit up. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's a girl. Her name is Epona."

"I'd love to see her. I wish I could see your ranch, instead of you always coming here."

"Our ranch isn't anything special. You've got a whole village here."

"But we only have a few horses. All we have are pumpkins and goat cheese."

Link couldn't help laughing. They continued on in awkward silence until they'd reached the northern entrance.

"Link."

"Yes?"

"Later, when you're not too busy, I want to show you something."

Link was so fixated on listening to Ilia's voice that her words didn't registered.

"Link?"

"Ah, sorry. Guess I was daydreaming. What did you say?"

She smiled sweetly and said, "Never mind."

"Link, where were you?"

They turned and saw Cremia sitting on a boulder next to the carriage, with Malon and Romani peering over its sides at them. They were parked next to an empty tree house right outside the village.

"When I looked into the cart and saw you gone, I had a heart attack! What happened?"

Tears streamed down Cremia's face. She wiped them away as she stood up.

"Sorry," he mumbled, his head hanging low. "When we passed by the spring, I jumped out to see if I could heal my foot."

"Please don't go off on your own, especially if you don't tell me where you're going. Get back in the cart, please." Cremia spoke shakily as she nudged Malon back into the middle and climbed into the driver's seat.

"You can come if you want, Ilia, but there's not much room. You'll have to sit in back with Link."

"Thanks, but I don't want to trouble you."

"It's no trouble, sweety." Cremia's voice cracked as she regained her composure. "We're all going into the village, so we may as well go together."

"Let's just go already!" Romani yelled impatiently. She hadn't seen Cremia crying. "I'm starving!"

Link stepped up to the back of the cart and opened the burlap cover. He threw his shoes in, then gave Ilia his hand so she could climb in. He allowed her the most comfortable seat he could find, then searched for another spot.

"You can sit here if you want, Link," Ilia offered her seat on a rather cozy milk crate. "You're the one with the injured foot."

"I'm ok. Don't worry about me," he uttered as he settled himself awkwardly between two other boxes across from her. "Besides, my foot's not so bad anymore, right?"

As he spoke, the carriage jilted forward. His body jerked back and he nearly fell.

"I'm sorry I got you in trouble."

"It's not your fault."

Link opened his mouth to elaborate, but changed his mind. They didn't talk anymore for the brief trip into the village.

A wide gap in the trees revealed the open field that was Ordon. In spite of the early season, the sun blazed intensely down on the town of only a few families. The scent of pumpkins pierced the windless air, and bees hummed lazily from flower to flower. A winding river from the northern waterfall halved the village, and a curving bridge brought it back together. The houses with roofs were built like mushrooms, and those without roofs were built into the bases of trees. Cremia parked the cart next to one of the tree-based houses. It too was unoccupied.

The horses drawn to the carriage pawed at the ground while everyone climbed off and out of the cart.

"I'll go tell my father you're here so you can get started," Ilia waved goodbye as she walked off. "I'll see you later, Link."

Link waved back, and then walked around the other side of the cart.

"Cremia?"

"Yes, Link?"

"I didn't mean to make you worry. I'm really sorry."

She smiled and gave him a big hug.

"It's okay. Since it's Ordon Village, we know everyone, and you've been here before, so it's not like you can get lost."

Link had a feeling she was telling herself this more than him.

"If you want to go somewhere, just let me know. I'm in charge of you while your dad is in Hyrule, and I don't want anything else happening to you, okay?"

"Okay."

Cremia squeezed, then released him. She pulled a basket off the seat of the carriage.

"Everyone stretch your legs and get something to eat. Do whatever you need to do now because as soon as Mayor Bo gives us our papers, we're going straight to work."

"I really have to go to the bathroom," Malon danced back and forth between her feet.

Romani eyed the Cremia's basket. Link approached the nearby river and knelt down. He cupped cool water into his hands and splashed it against his face. He heard heavy sandals crunching on the sandy dirt path behind him. He turned and saw a big man, with a mustache reminiscent of a boar's horns, carrying a huge stack of papers. He wore the same style of clothing as Fado and Ilia.

"Mornin', Cremia. You're here bright and early."

"We got here as fast as we could, sir. We'll be ready to start in just a few minutes."

"It's nice to know someone around here is ready to work. I've got the order forms for both ranches ready right here. By the way…"

He looked around the cart on both sides.

"Where's Talon?"

"About that," Cremia began nervously. "Talon couldn't be here, since he had business in Hyrule as well. He's sent his two very capable children to complete the work here."

"What?!" The mayor's shouts nearly made Link fall in the river.

"He's insane if he thinks two kids can do this kind of work! It's preposterous! What does he take us for?"

"Now now, what's with all this ruckus?" A man the same height as Mayor Bo but noticeably skinnier came out of nowhere. He wore a sweatband around his forehead and a sword strapped across his back. Link recognized him instantly.

"What do we do, Rusl?" the mayor growled, rubbing his forehead. "Talon's decided not to show up, and has seen fit to send children to do  _his_ work. There's no way we can get all these orders filled without his help! It's gonna be a disaster trying to explain to Lady Impa why Kakariko can't get any milk this year!"

"Wait just a minute, Bo," Rusl spoke calmly. "Let's not disregard the children so quickly. Malon and Link have both been here before, and know what the orders entail. Why not give them a chance?"

"It doesn't matter how many times they've been here! They can't possibly know how to fill out the forms correctly; it racks my own brain to do my 'em! And there's no way two kids can lift such heavy boxes on their own!"

"That's why Talon sent them with me, sir. I'll be more than willing to help them," Cremia did her best to intervene.

"And that's another thing! Talon knows better than anyone else just how busy you are, Cremia. It's maddening to think he's making a young woman, with horrible circumstances such as yourself, do the work of  _two_ adults! I knew that man was lazy, but by god, I'd never thought he'd stoop to this! Why doesn't he just make the whole village move onto his ranch and milk his cows for him?!"

Mayor Bo threw the giant stack onto the ground and stormed off, his feet pounding as he went. Cremia shakily bent down to pick up the papers.

"I'm so sorry, Cremia," Rusl knelt down to help. "Please don't fault him too much. The mayor's been overworked these last few days. Running this village, as small as it is, is a tough job."

"I'd feel better about it if I weren't partly responsible."

"What do you mean, sweety?"

"Since Fado left to help us on our little ranch, the mayor's had to leave the ranch here to volunteers. I feel like I took something from him, and I wish I could make it up to him somehow."

"Young lady," Rusl's tone shifted from soft and paternal to strong and serious. "If you want to make it up to him, then you do everything in your power to get your ranch better than it was before your father died. Make it the most successful in the whole province."

Cremia looked up at him, stunned.

"But in the meantime," his voice changed back. "Don't worry too much about it."

"Um… Thank you, sir. Is there any place where we can use the restroom before we get started?"

"Well, since Fado's place is empty now," Rusl pointed to the empty house they'd parked next to. "I imagine that's where you'll be staying while you're here. It's gotten dusty since he left, but everything in there should still work fine."

No sooner had Rusl said this to Cremia did Malon run into the house.

"If you need any help, Cremia, I'll be more than happy to, and I'm sure the other men in the village would be, too. I won't be surprised if Bo comes back and apologizes before the end of the day. He's not mad at you. He's just gotten into the bad habit of taking his anger out on others."

"Thank you, Rusl. For everything." Cremia clutched the forms in her hands tightly. Rusl started walking away when Cremia remembered Link, standing by the river and watching the scene.

"Rusl."

He turned around at his name.

"Before you go…" Cremia beckoned to Link, and he came.

"Do you think you could have a chat with Link later today," she asked, her voice quieter than it had bee all morning. "Regarding an important matter?"

"How important are we talking?"

"I'm not sure, to be honest. Only Link can tell you that much. That is of course, whether he decides to tell you or not."

Link could feel himself being put more on the spot with every word from Cremia's mouth, but when he looked at Rusl and met his gaze, he found himself looking into the strongest eyes he'd ever seen; trusting, accepting, and unjudging. Link felt his chest swell, and spoke.

"Something really weird is happening to me, and I don't know what it is, but Cremia said you might be able to help."

"Why don't you come down to the spring this evening, Link, and we can talk there? In the meantime, if I were you, I'd do what it takes to convince the mayor just how wrong he really is."

Rusl's voice shifted to seriousness again as he finished his statement, and then he strode away. Malon emerged out of the house, looking relieved and angry at the same time.

"Cremia. When do we start?"

"What's your hurry?" Romani asked, her stomach growling.

"Didn't you hear what that jerk said?!"

Malon pointed in the direction that Mayor Bo had walked off.

"He practically called us babies! He said there's no way Link and I could do the work for our ranch, and he called Dad lazy,  _and_ he had the nerve to yell at Cremia, as if she was a baby! I don't care how overworked he is, or if he's Ilia's dad, or that he's the mayor of Ordon! There's no way I'm letting a big fat doofus tell me what I am or am not  _'capable'_  of!"

Cremia couldn't help laughing at Malon's outburst.

"We'll get started as soon as we finish breakfast. Let's hurry though; we don't want to get caught working in the hottest part of the day. I have a feeling spring finally started."

Cremia picked up the forgotten basket―which she'd dropped when she picked up the orders―and distributed breakfast among the children. They devoured the food in a matter of minutes. Romani and Link used their chance to use the bathroom while Cremia left their luggage in the empty house. Finally, they boarded the carriage again and made their way towards Ordon Ranch.

On any other day, the ranch would've been quite chilly. It was higher in elevation than the village, as brisk air wafted through the uneven field surrounded on all sides by steep hills. A hardwood fence enclosed the field where goats grazed apathetically on mountain grass, not bothering to glance at the approaching cart. A low wooden platform was built next to the stable.

As soon as Cremia stopped the cart, two men approached the carriage and drew off the horses, taking them into the stable. Cremia followed them into the stable and explained Talon's absence to them while Link and Malon both climbed out of the carriage for what they hoped would be the last time that day.

"I'm not waiting!" Malon declared as she grabbed the forms Cremia left on the carriage seat. "The less time we spend working is more time we can play with Romani and Ilia. Link, let's get started!"

She held the forms in both hands and skimmed through them, quickly flipping the papers under her thumb, as if they were pages of a book.

"Lots of forms from Kakariko this year, not too many from Hyrule City. Good thing Dad's doing those in person. A bunch for Clock Town, a  _ton_ for Lynna City, and just as many for Horon Village too. We never get orders that far out. We've got our work cut out for us this year."

By the time Cremia came out of the stable, several boxes were already stacked in separate piles onto the platform. Link pulled boxes one by one out of the carriage, carrying them where Malon directed him.

"Wait, Link," she stopped him with an upheld hand. "That's one of the Romani boxes. Cremia, can we get some pens or pencils, so I can fill these out?"

"Um, sure."

Cremia had anticipated doing Talon's share of work for his ranch, even if he hadn't said so, but here she stood, watching two children do what Mayor Bo called 'the work of an adult,' and doing it faster than any adult could. She'd have to work twice as hard just to keep up with them.

"Romani, get out of the carriage. It's time to work. I'll be right back with some pens."

Cremia went back into the stable and emerged with two pens. Together, they went through order after form, moving through the pile of papers rapidly.

Romani sat in the back of the cart and pushed crates from the front to the back so Link could take them out. One box of milk normally required two grown men to carry, not because of weight―though they were heavy―but to keep the bottles balanced, so they didn't break inside. Link was able to carry one box perfectly balanced under each arm without any struggle. With strong and steady arms no one expected from a nine-year old boy, Link had emptied the cart of all the crates within a few hours.

Malon was just as gifted in mental capacity. She finished the arithmetic required for filling out orders so quickly that by the time Cremia had one order filled out, Malon had threeorders filled, addressed, stamped, and ready to be shipped with the milk. She gathered and processed data faster then anyone else Cremia had ever met.

As she watched the two of them, Cremia was positive she was in the presence of a genius and a bodybuilder. She considered giving up helping, just to get out of their way. In the time it took Link to unload all the milk and separate them accordingly, Malon had finished filling, filing, and addressing not only the order forms for Lon Lon Ranch, but for Romani ranch as well.

"You just finished three days of work in less than a few hours," Cremia said quietly, her breath taken away. She would have collapsed into a chair if she had one nearby.

"Whew!" Link placed down the last box and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "That didn't take long."

"Now that that's done," Malon started, finishing the last form and dropping it on Link's box. "What do we do now?"

"I don't know. I was expecting to do this all of today and all of tomorrow. I'm rather shocked."

"No way. Dad makes us do this all the time." Malon handed her pen back. "Since we've got the rest of the day off, there's nothing stopping us from playing, right?"

"I suppose not," was all Cremia could say as she took the pen.

"Hooray! Let's go find Ilia!" Romani climbed out of the carriage, jumped down, and raced off towards the ranch entrance with Malon and Link following after her.

"Wait for us!" Link called after her.

Cremia stood for a long time with both pens in one hand and some blank forms in the other, staring at the boxes, when Mayor Bo came marching up the hill toward the ranch. He grew worried when he saw her standing motionless next to the carriage.

"Cremia, I came up here to apologize, but you look as if you've seen a poe. Where'd the kids go?" He noticed the milk boxes piled up on the platform in perfect order.

"And where in the world did these come from?!"

"It's all done, sir."

"What?"

"All the milk from both ranches is ready to be shipped out."

"What? How in the-"

The mayor stumbled over to the platform and picked up one of the forms resting on the box and looked through it quickly.

"How, in the name of Nayru, did you get these filled out so fast? I can't get Jaggle or Hanch to work this fast, even if I paid 'em double!"

"I didn't do anything, sir."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Those two children worked so fast through those orders, I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't just watched it with my very eyes."

Mayor Bo stared at the poor girl for a moment before he regained his train of thought and put the form back.

"Anyways, Cremia, I had no right to yell at you, and frankly I'm ashamed of myself for it. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

Cremia focused her attention away from the ranch entrance to the mayor.

"It's all right, sir. I can't imagine how much work it is to be mayor, especially since Fado left to work for us."

"He might not be the best of workers. He was always losin' goats here and there, but it's still that much harder to run the Ordon Ranch without him. There were twice as many orders this year than we've had in a long time, thanks to all that rain we've had, and those thieves that've been hittin' ranches have been hittin' our village too. It's only been a year since he left, but I'm not sure how much longer we can go without a permanent worker on the ranch."

"If nothing else sir, I hope it's good to know that we've finished all the orders. Maybe we can hang around and help the village some before we leave."

"I couldn't ask that of you, girl! Ever since your father died, you've been workin' day and night. Take a break while you're here; have a bowl of pumpkin soup, why don't ya?"

"I couldn't even if I wanted to. I don't know what to do with myself if I'm not working. Isn't there anything you could use help on?"

"You can help by getting some rest, Cremia. Why don't you go into the spring and see if it'll do you any good. You deserve it."

"But sir-"

"No buts. Go on, girl. Git!"

Cremia laughed, "All right, I'm going!"

She started slowly down the ranch, leaving Mayor Bo behind to scratch his head and wonder at all the orders.

Her feet dragged across the dirt as she made her way back to the village. It took several minutes before she finally approached the first house on her left. The signpost next to it, built of black wood, read that it was Mayor Bo's house. She sat on the steps of the house and cupped her chin in her hands.

"What's wrong with me?" She thought. "Link and Malon were better with the orders than I was, and Mayor Bo wouldn't let me help, though I'd probably just ruin something if he let me. and the moment I look away it seems like Link either goes missing or gets hurt. Why am I so pathetic?"

She closed her eyes, and saw the memory of her house on Romani ranch, one year ago. It hadn't been dilapidated the way it was now; it was warm and cozy.

In one of the bedrooms, her father lied in bed, coughing up blood. She was kneeling next to the bed, grasping his weak hand tightly in hers. She heard the barely audible words that had haunted her for the last year.

" _I'm so sorry, sweety. It's up to you now. Look after your sister and the ranch."_

" _No, Daddy, I can't! Please!"_

" _I'll miss you."_

Romani was sitting next to Cremia, crying and rubbing her eyes with her fists. An unnamed doctor waited patiently by the bedroom door, waiting to pronounce time of death. Their father went slowly and painfully; it had taken twenty minutes after her father spoke for him to go. When he finally did, the doctor pronounced it and ushered the two girls out of the room.

That year, Talon had sent Malon and Link with Ingo to Ordon while he stayed on the Romani ranch and helped the girls for two weeks. News had reached Ordon Village of the father's death, so Mayor Bo sent Fado to help Talon. His stay became semi-permanent after Talon left.

For those two weeks, both girls had been livid. Neither of them were given time to mourn, for they had to learn everything about the ranch that their father hadn't already taught them. Two newly orphaned girls, one nine years old, and the other fifteen, worked their hearts out on the left behind ranch. They worked all day and night until their hands were thick with calluses, the muscles in their arms hardened, and their eyes dry and red from tears.

In that year, Cremia had no choice but to grow up. She started to cry.

"I'm sorry, Dad. Everything has gone wrong since you left. I don't know if I can do this anymore. I don't know what else to do."

_"Young lady."_

Rusl's words suddenly echoed in her mind, and she stopped crying.

_"Do everything in your power to get your ranch better than it was before your father died. Make it the most successful in the whole province."_

Those words filled her mind instantly. It wasn't even that long ago, but his words were just as effective. If he hadn't said them earlier, she probably would've cried her heart out after Mayor Bo yelled at her that morning. And now, they stopped her on the brink of her pity party.

That's all it really was; a pity party. Had she had it tough? Probably a lot tougher than most people her age, but while she missed her father desperately, she had the love and help of so many other people, she felt it was a waste of time to miss her father needlessly. He'd given her a job before he'd left and that was all that mattered.

_"Make it the most successful in the whole province!"_

"I have to keep our ranch going no matter what! I have to, for Daddy, and for Romani, and Talon and his kids and for everyone in Ordon Village!"

Cremia stood up and paced into the village. She could hear the kids' shrill voices, as well as a great deal of splashing. She moved hurriedly to the village's north entrance, and made her way back to the spring. When she reached it, she slowly approached and without stopping, walked in all the way up to her thighs.

The water dissolved her aches, pains, and worries. She knelt down and immersed herself in the water, lying on her back and squinting into the sun until tears rolled down her cheeks.

There was one problem when it came to the ranch; she'd worked as hard as she could in the last year, and it wasn't enough. The cows and goats needed medicine from the hard winter, and the roof of the house had so many leaks it was laughable. Not to mention the thieves going around and stealing cows every other time they showed up. She wished she could put some nice locks on the barn door like the ones Talon had on his own barn and stable.

Cremia sighed and sat up as the obvious came to her. She needed what everyone else needed: money. She had no idea how to get it, since ranching was the only thing she knew and was her only source of income. If working as hard as she had in the last year could fix the problem, it would've done so by now. She was pretty sure the ranch  _lost_ money that year. Fixing the blown off roof of the barn alone was going to cost a fortune.

Her thoughts went to the events that morning; the strangest creatures she'd ever seen had infiltrated the ranch, and had obvious intentions to steal  _all_ the livestock on the ranch, and her sister in the process. If Link hadn't stopped them and rescued Romani, she didn't know what she would've done, other then maybe give up.

Come to think of it, why were they there in the first place? Did her father know about them before he died? Romani told her that those things, whatever they were, came every year to try and take the cattle. It frightened her to think that her sister had been keeping them at bay year after year. Did those things ever try to steal the cows and horses at Talon's ranch, or any of the other ranches in the province? Talon had never mentioned it to her, and she'd never heard about them from anyone else. Did they only come to her ranch then, and if so, why? There wasn't anything special about her cows, was there?

"Something special," she said out loud to no one. She stood up and bent slightly, wringing her wet hair.

"There's something special."

Her eyes lit up, and she began to laugh.

"There's something special! There's something special about my cows!" She repeated it over and over again, laughing the whole time while wringing out her hair and clothes. She took off her soaked boots and carried them in her hand as she walked back to the village, letting the dirt cake on the bottom of her feet.

"There's something special about my cows!"

She sang and twirled in circles until she was dizzy enough to vomit. By the time she came to Fado's empty house, she was laughing hysterically. She opened the door, and before going inside, she turned around and screamed one last time at the village.

"THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT MY COWS!"

She slammed the door behind her.

Link, Malon, Romani, and Ilia were swimming in the pond at the northwest end of the village when they heard Cremia singing madly. They watched as she twirled her way into the house and screamed before going inside the house. They stared at one another for a long time before Link finally spoke, standing on the deck.

"What was  _that_ about?!"

"Beats me," shrugged Romani, bobbing up and down in the water. "Dad always said, before he died, that teenagers are crazy."

"I hope she's okay," Ilia wondered as she dipped her legs in, sitting on the deck next to Link.

"She sounds fine to me," Romani declared. "Let's leave her alo-"

Link cannon-balled into the pond and sent a wave of water flying toward the girls. All three were soaked.

"LINK!" Malon screamed, and Ilia laughed. "You're gonna get it!"

"You'll have to catch me first!" He swam in circles around her while she made mad grabs at him.

"Romani! After him!"

Both girls went after him, but couldn't keep up when he swam around the giant boulder sticking out of the lake, then dived down out of reach. For the rest of the morning and all the afternoon, they swam together and played every water game they could think of. They splashed, screamed, paddled, and laughed so hard their sides hurt and tears streamed down their faces. When the sun finally sank towards the horizon, they climbed out of the water and rested in the shade of the nearby trees.

"Aah! My skin hurts!" Romani cried. "I'm gonna wake up with a sunburn tomorrow."

"Me too," moaned Malon. "We should've stayed in the shade like Ilia. She was smart."

Ilia and Link laughed.

"It's not funny!" She shouted. "I bet you'll have one worse than ours tomorrow, Link."

"Actually, I don't feel anything," he replied, looking at both of his arms and finding no tell-tale red.

"Maybe not now, but just wait 'till later," Romani warned. "It never really shows until the day after, you know?"

"Yeah, Link! Just you wait!"

"Maybe," Link lazily replied, lying on his back, looking up into the leaves and watching the sunlight dance between them.

"There goes Rusl," Ilia said, pointing towards him. "Looks like he's going to the spring."

Link sat up and realized the time.

"I gotta go."

"Hmm? Where?" Ilia looked at him.

"Maybe we should go too," Romani stood up. "Cremia might be wondering where we are."

"It  _is_ getting late," Malon agreed. "I'm getting hungry."

"Dad told me that the whole village is planning a campout tonight."

"Really?! I wanna go!" Romani exclaimed happily.

"It'll be lots of fun," explained Ilia. "There'll be lots of food, and stories around a big bonfire. And after that, we'll all sleep under the stars."

"The yearly camp out, huh? I forgot about it." Malon stretched her legs and looked over at Link, seeing the twinkle in his eye. She could practically see the images of the campfire going through his head, and she smiled. She turned her glance at Ilia, and noticed she was staring intently at LInk. Malon frowned and tracked the path of Ilia's gaze, and gaped.

"Whoa! Link!"

"What?" he asked earnestly. "What's wrong?"

"Your ears! What happened to them?"

"My ears?" Now he was just confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Look at them! They're really pointy!"

Link gave Malon a look that told her she was nuts, then reluctantly approached the water and peered at his reflection. Sure enough, instead of his normal rounded ears, the tops of his ears came up in a sharp point and spread away from the side of his face.

"Whoa," he said breathlessly.

"They weren't like that yesterday," Romani explained. "I was with him all day. I would've remembered."

"Maybe not," said Malon. "None of us noticed until now, so who knows how long they've been like that."

"Maybe it's no big deal. Maybe I'm just sick or something and this is a symptom."

"I've never heard of any sickness that causes pointy ears," Malon frowned. "But if that's true, you'd better stay away from me. Who knows what else that disease could do? You could wake up purple tomorrow for all we know."

"We don't know that it's a disease for sure," Ilia reasoned.

"Link, you were gonna talk to Rusl weren't you? Why don't you ask him about it?" Romani suggested.

"Yeah, if anybody would know, it's him," Ilia agreed.

"I guess so," Link sighed, then thought to himself,  _"Great. Another check on my list of weird things about me. Maybe I can find a circus to join."_

"You'd better hurry. He headed for the spring a few minutes ago."

"Alright, I guess I'll see you later." He jumped up, dove back into the pond, and swam down the river back to the village. Climbing onto the shore, he got to his feet and shook his head briskly from side to side, casting water from his hair onto the ground. He wrung out his clothes the best he could without stretching them, then started down the forest path.

Golden light filled the land as the sun entered twilight. Before long, Link was out of the village and by the forked path again. He turned the corner and saw Ordona Spring once more, and sitting on the shore with his back to Link was Rusl. He watched him nervously, then approached.

"Rusl?"

He turned and smiled warmly.

"Hello, Link. Have a seat."

The same trust Link felt earlier welled up in his chest again, so he wasted no time in marching over to Rusl and plopping down next to him.

"What's on your mind, son?"

It occurred to Link that he hadn't spent any time thinking about what he was going to say, so he didn't say anything at first. Instead, he watched the spring, and watched the ripples move hypnotically across the surface.

"It's alright, Link. You can tell me."

Rusl's words filled his ears, and reminded him of Talon's voice, but better. Rusl didn't speak with a drawl, and his words were so nice, in a way he couldn't explain. He finally spoke.

"I've been having really weird dreams," he said, then looked at Rusl. He didn't say anything, but was listening intently, so Link continued.

"Yesterday, I passed out for no reason. While I was out, I dreamt about a dark man with fire in his eyes. He burnt down our ranch and the castle in Hyrule. And the night before, I had a dream about a girl in the forest. She gave me an ocarina, and when I woke up, I was holding that ocarina in my hand. I brought it with me to Ordon."

Link stopped talking long enough to notice the look in Rusl's eyes. They were urgent and serious. He continued.

"And before that, I had the same dream every night, for over a week, that it was raining sparkles. I was floating in the sky, and three gold people flew by me. When I looked down to see where they went, I saw Hyrule below me. When I looked back, I saw three golden triangles spinning. Whenever I try to grab them, I wake up."

"Anything else?"

"Um, yeah. The day before we went to Romani Ranch to come here, Malon and I were going into the forest, when everything turned black and I went flying through the stars. I saw millions of them go by before I stopped and landed somewhere, and I saw three giant ladies. It felt like I was gone for hours, but when I came back, Malon said I had only disappeared for a few minutes.

"Anyway, I think that's everything."

Link watched Rusl impatiently, who seemed to be studying the spring. Rays shined down from the setting sun through the trees. The forest was growing darker around them, and the glow on the water was fading. Link felt loneliness settle around him. Neither he, nor Rusl talked for a long time.

"Tell me, Link." Rusl finally began. "Do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls?"

This time, Rusl's face was full of sadness.

"They say it's the only time when our world intersects with theirs…"

"With whose, sir?"

"…The only time we can feel the lingering regrets of spirits who have left this world."

Link's thoughts went to Talon's story from the morning before. He thought of the people in Hyrule who'd been mercilessly killed mercilessly nine years ago, for no reason. The loneliness that had settled on Link and Rusl doubled.

"How old are you now, Link?"

"I'm nine, sir."

"Do you know where your name came from?"

"Talon told me that when I was a baby, he found me outside the ranch, and my name was written on a note."

Rusl let out an exasperated sigh, and stood up.

"Sir?"

Rusl looked down and saw the worried look in Link's eyes. He smiled.

"Stand up, Link. I have something to show you."

Link rose to his feet.

"To be honest, I was scared because I thought Cremia wanted me to give you the talk about the Takkuris and Bees."

"Eck! No!" Link retched. Talon had already given him and Malon that talk several months ago. He wanted to forget that day more than anything. Rusl laughed.

"Grossness aside, there is something I can tell you. Would you like to hear it?"

"Please tell me. I want to know."

"Before we can discuss it, we need to talk about those dreams of yours. Follow me."

Rusl turned from the spring, Link trailed after him, and they headed back to the village. Rusl walked along the river and started up a small hill. They came to a house resting on top.

"This is my home, Link. Come inside."

Rusl opened the door for him, and they went in. The first thing Link noticed was a young woman with dark eyes and blonde hair, sitting on a couch with knitting needles in her hands.

"Is this our friend from Lon Lon, sweety?"

She smiled brightly at Link, who couldn't help returning the smile.

"Link, this is my wife, Uli."

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," Link nervously extended his hand, and she took it in hers.

"And I'm very pleased to meet you. I hope you'll forgive me if I don't stand, Link."

"Uli, I'm going to show Link to the forge."

"All right. Do keep it down," Uli returned to her knitting. "I finally got Colin down for his nap."

"Can do."

Rusl kissed Uli's forehead, then walked across the living room to a door in the back.

"This way, Link."

Link followed through the doorway and found himself outside again. Next to the house was an add-on with only three walls and an entryway where the fourth way would've been. Inside, Link saw an anvil with a hammer, numbers of chisels and fullers across other shelves, a forge with a chimney in the back, and other tools that Link couldn't recognize. What caught Link's eye was the opposite wall, lined with books, more than he could count, and most of them falling apart. There were hundreds, and some had titles that Link couldn't read.

"That's a lot of books," he said.

"I collect them every time I travel. I travel quite a bit, as you can see. Have a seat over there, and wait a moment."

Link sat in a chair next to the cold forge and watched Rusl search indiscriminately through the shelves.

"Colin is my son, by the way," Rusl announced. "Two years old now. He and Uli are the loves of my life."

"I didn't know," Link answered.

"Aha! Here we are."

Rusl pulled an ancient tome from the shelf and blowed the dust off the cover. "I think this is the answer to all your troubles."

"Really?"

Link made to stand up.

"Hold on, I'll bring it to you." Rusl placed the book on the table next to Link, opened the heavy cover of the book and turned the pages until he stopped on a picture that Link recognized immediately.

"That's-!"

"Do you know them, Link?"

"Yeah! Those are the three giant ladies I saw when I disappeared in the forest!"

"Those three giant ladies, as you call them, are Hyrule's Goddesses."

Link gaped at the picture.

"They look exactly like I remember," he breathed.

"They are the same ones you spoke of in this picture."

Rusl turned to another picture that showed three golden beings descending on the continent of Hyrule.

"That's them, too!" Link's eyes were wide-open in amazement.

"I think you witnessed the Creation of Hyrule in your dreams."

"Creation of Hyrule?"

"I'll read it to you."

Rusl turned back to the first page and began reading aloud the Legend of Hyrule, in language so eloquent that the words flowed through Link like energy. He listened intently as Din, Nayru and Farore, the Goddesses of Power, Wisdom and Courage, created the land with all its twists and turns, and all of its lakes, mountains, deserts and forests, and all the people who lived there. He stopped Rusl's reading when he came to a sentence that read, 'their labors completed, they departed for the heavens, and Golden Sacred Triangles remained at the Point'.

"Golden triangles?"

"That's right." Rusl turned the page, and Link was face to face with the triangles that had tormented his sleep for the past week. Rusl continued reading, and recited to Link the legend of the three golden triangles.

"The Three Goddesses, their labors completed, departed for the heavens, and the Golden Sacred Triangles remained at the Point where the Goddesses left the world. Since then, the Sacred Triangles have become the basis of our world's providence, and the resting place of the triangles has become the Sacred Realm. For it is in that Sacred Realm that one will find the divine relic, the Triforce, which contains the essence of the Goddesses.

"The power of the Triforce is that power to grant the wish of the one who holds it in his hands. If someone with a righteous heart makes a wish, it will lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity. If someone with an evil mind has his wish granted, the world will be consumed by evil. That is the legend as it has been passed down by generations."

Rusl stopped reading when he noticed Link's starry-eyed expression, and chuckled.

"This is a lot to absorb, so I guess I'll stop there."

"Wow…"

"Do you understand, Link?"

"I think so. My dreams were about the Three Goddesses and how they created Hyrule, and then left behind those triangles, called the Triforce, and now it's in the Sacred Realm?"

"That's the gist of it."

Link stared at the ground. He was smiling.

"You're old enough to understand that story now."

"It's a cool story, and I really like it. But why am I having these dreams? I'm just a kid from a ranch."

"Not necessarily. Have you noticed your ears today by any chance?"

"Just now, actually. Malon told me that my ears looked weird while we were swimming, and when I looked at my reflection in the water, they were really pointy. Ilia said they'd been like that all morning."

"Good. That makes the next part easier. There's a lot more to the story than I've told you so far."

"Like what?"

"Like this."

Rusl flipped through more pages in the huge book, and rested on one with no words, but with a detailed picture that covered two full pages in the book. A strong boy, who didn't look older than a teenager, was wearing a green tunic, a matching cap, tan trousers, durable gloves and boots of leather hide. He was standing in front of a marble temple, and carried an emblazoned blue shield in his right hand and a broad sword of white metal in his left. All around him were dark clouds, except a ray of light that shined down directly upon him. His sharp blue eyes pierced the pages of the book and stared severely at the reader.

"Who  _is_ that?" Link asked.

"That's you."

"Me?!"

"To be more precise, that is the man you are named after."

"I am?"

"That's right. That man's name is Link, just like you, and he's a very important part of Hyrule's history. Look closely at his face, and tell me what you see."

Link bent closer to the book and stared back at the adventurer. He felt as though the man's eyes were staring straight into his soul. They were strong eyes, and Link felt that he was a very good man.

"He must be a great hero," announced Link, after staring at the picture for several minutes.

"He was. Probably the greatest hero that ever lived. But there's something you're missing. Look closely, Link. Tell me  _exactly_  what you see."

"I'll try."

Link did his best, looking as hard as he could at the picture, scanning every detail of the man's face, and finally he saw it.

"His ears," he realized. "They're just like mine."

"Ah, now you see. Link, this man is a member of a race known as the Hylians."

"I remember them!" Link replied excitedly. "Talon told me a they're the ones who built the castle in Hyrule!"

"That's right. They rule over our country, and guard all the people of every race that live within it. They are also the guardians of the Triforce. They've been given that divine duty by the Goddesses themselves."

"But what does that have to do with my ears?"

"Have you been listening, Link? Think very carefully."

"Well, that man in the picture has ears just like mine… and he's is a Hylian. Do all Hylians have ears like that?"

"They certainly do."

"Then that must mean… that I'm Hylian?"

Rusl said nothing, and instead let the truth sink in.

"I'm Hylian…"

"Does it hurt to knowing you're not human?"

Link saw the solemn look on Rusl's face, and considered for a long time before he answered.

"I guess not. I always assumed I was human like anyone else. But I always feel left out at home. It got even worse when the dreams started."

"And?"

"And I think ever since those dreams started, was when I started to feel really weird. The weirdest I've ever felt."

"Weird how?"

"Yesterday when we were at Romani Ranch, we were playing bows and arrows, and Romani told me I was a better archer than most of the men in the Hyrule army. And while we were doing the milk crates this morning, I could lift two milk crates at once without any trouble."

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, actually. I cut my foot really bad this morning before we got here, but when I went to the spring to heal it, it was already gone."

"And then you found out about your ears, yes?"

"Yes sir. Do you know what it means?"

"I do. Those weird feelings you have, and your sudden increase in strength and dexterity, and your ears developing point to one thing."

"What's that?"

"You're coming of age."

"What? But I'm only nine. I'm still a kid."

"It doesn't mean you're an adult, Link. It means that you're making the transition into becoming an adult. Hylians hit that transition a lot earlier than humans do. Your sister Malon won't come of age until she's about sixteen. It's why you're a lot stronger than you're used to be, and since the transition period for Hylians is just as spiritual as it is physical, it's probably why you've been having such strange dreams."

"So… I'm just growing up? I'm normal?"

"Completely. Everyone from every race goes through this at some point. Humans go through growth spurts, Gorons lose their baby rocks and grow new ones, Rito lose their baby feathers and grow new ones, you get the idea. You may feel weird as you say for a little while, but I promise what is happening to you is nothing new."

Rusl suddenly burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"In the end, I really did give you the Takkuris and Bees talk, just in a roundabout way."

"Oh, come on! Quit reminding me about that!"

Rusl laughed loudly, but his laughter was soon followed by a crying child.

"Rusl!" Uli's voice cried out in desperation from the house.

"Sorry, dear!"

Rusl then made to pick up the book, but Link put his hand on the pages.

"You said I was named after him," he said, pointing to the hero in the picture. "You said he was the most important hero in all of Hyrule. But who is he? Do you know him?"

"I do, but I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"You'll find out soon enough. You know the village is having a camp out tonight?"

"Ilia said something about it."

"Would you like to join us?"

"Would I!" Link exclaimed happily as he gave the book back to Rusl.

"It's a good thing we finished when we did. It's getting dark, so we'll be starting camp out anytime now. Why don't you come with Uli and I? We can meet the others there."

"It's just as well that Colin is awake," Uli sighed, and they saw her standing in the entry of the forge. She carried a giant basket bread in one arm and a fussy toddler in the other. He squirmed in Uli's grasp.

"Ma! Pu down! Da!" He gurgled, reaching out for Rusl.

"Oh for goodness sake! All right, you silly thing!"

Uli gently placed Colin down, and he stumbled his way over to Rusl.

"C'mere, you!" He reached down and thrust Colin into the air. "How's my big man?"

"Meam mom pu Cawli do bed!" Colin announced happily.

"She did?! Well that wasn't very nice, was it?"

"Ahem!" Uli crossed her arms.

"Eh, that is, even a big man such as yourself needs sleep too, right? And it's not nice to call your mom mean."

Colin glanced at Link and clung tightly to his father. Rusl carried him over.

"Link, this is my son. Say hi, Colin."

"Ai, Cawli," he repeated shyly, and the three laughed.

"We'd better hurry sweety. We don't want to be late."

"Will you join us, Link?"

"Yes sir."

Rusl, with Colin in tow, led the way to the village. Uli followed him, but struggled under the weight of the bread basket.

"Darling, I don't know if I can carry this. It's too heavy for me."

"Let me, ma'am."

Before she could reject Link's offer, he reached down and easily lifted the basket on top of his head.

"Oh my goodness!" Uli gasped. "Such a strong boy. Thank you, Link!"

"You're welcome, ma'am."

"There's no need to be formal," she insisted. "Call me Uli."

"Thank you," Link grinned.

The four made their way to the village center. The sun had set behind the nearby trees and the mountains beyond. It was getting darker by the minute. Villagers were lighting the lamps that lined the road as they went. As they walked, Rusl frequently looked back to make sure they were still following, but his head kept turning side to side to all the roads they passed, then back at them again, over and over. Uli approached him from behind and touched his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"What?" He asked, almost sounding angry.

"Rusl, you're awfully fidgety tonight. Is something the matter?"

"Oh no, sweety. Sorry." This time, he spoke apologetically.

"Are you ok, Rusl?" Link asked. They stopped walking.

"No, it's nothing," he said quickly. "Let's keep going, shall we?" He put on a fake grin and continued up the road. Link and Uli trailed behind.

"Link," Uli suddenly whispered. "May I ask what you and my husband talked about?"

"Huh? Well, um…"

"I just want to know if something's the matter."

"I asked him about some dreams I was having, and he said it was nothing of the ordinary. I'm sorry I made him mad."

"Oh he's not angry, sweety. I could tell if he was."

"Then what's wrong with him?"

Uli didn't respond at first, but then said, "Don't worry dear. I'll take care of him. You focus on having fun tonight. Is that basket getting heavy at all?"

"No, ma'am."

"I told you!" She laughed, "Call me Uli."

"Ee iz hea!" Colin cried out and pointed a chubby finger. There in the village center was a huge fire pit, not yet lit, and everyone was gathered around, making preparations. Malon, Romani and Cremia were laying out sleeping pads a safe distance from the pit.

"Is it ok if I go?" Link requested.

"Of course, but before you do, do you see where they're laying out the food?"

Link looked where Uli was pointing. His stomach growled loudly when he realized that he hadn't eaten since that morning. Soups, stews, potatoes, cheese, milk, juice, beef, roasted cucco, fish, fruits, berries, pies, candied sweets, and loads of other hot and cold dishes adorned four huge buffet tables in the center of the activities.

"Yes, I see," he drooled.

"Take that bread basket over to the table for me."

Link carried the basket as fast as he could without losing any of the bread, dropped it by the table, and ran away before temptation could take hold of him. He sprinted over to his group.

"Welcome back, Link," Malon greeted as she smoothed out the wrinkles in her mat. "How'd it go with Rusl?"

"I learned a lot of stuff."

"Like what?"

"Like that I'm a Hy-"

"A hi? What's a hi?"

"I mean, that is, um…"

"Oh, never mind. Weirdo."

She stuck her tongue out and went back to her mat. Cremia handed Link his own.

"Here's yours."

"Thanks," He said quietly and unrolled it.

_"Why couldn't I tell her? Is it really a big deal if I'm Hylian and not human?"_

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Cremia.

"It's okay, Link. You can tell us whatever it is."

Before he could say anything, a cowbell rang through the village. Mayor Bo's voice addressed the gathering.

"Welcome everyone, Ordon Village and visitors. Tomorrow starts the New Year, and to celebrate, we've gathered for our yearly camp out."

People began taking their seats on the mats as he spoke.

"We'd better sit down," Cremia said to Link. They took their seats next to Malon and Romani. Sitting on her own mat next to him, Ilia mouthed the words, 'Hi Link'. He mouthed back, 'Hey.'

"This year begins the Year of the Leopard, the spirit of Holodrum, and the element of Growth. May it bless us this year with strength to grow as individuals and as a village!"

There was a reluctant round of applause from the small crowd.

"I know we haven't finished as much of our annual work as we needed, but I still have a good feeling about this coming year. We have nothing in the way of announcements to make, so unless anyone has something important they feel needs to be shared, I suggest we get this party started."

"I do, Mayor." Rusl stood up and everyone groaned, upset at the unexpected delay. Rusl approached Mayor Bo, and they began whispering amongst themselves.

"Mhm… Yes, that is rather urgent. Thank you, Rusl."

Rusl resumed his seat with his family, and Bo addressed the crowd once more.

"Ladies and gentlemen, there's no need for alarm, but Rusl has given me word that the fiends responsible for the string of thefts in the Ordona Province have been spotted somewhere outside our village."

The ladies in the group gasped, and everyone began chattering excitedly.

"Now now, everyone calm down. Rusl suggested we take a watch schedule throughout the night, and I agree. We'll have the able-bodied men take turns standing watch throughout the night, so if anything happens, we'll be more than capable than handling it. It only seems fitting that I go first. We'll discuss who'll take turns later, but for now, let's light the bonfire and begin our feast. And of course, women and children go first."

The men in the gathering stood up and began piling wood into the fire pit while the women escorted the children toward the buffet tables. Link took a large plate and bowl, and filled both generously with as much food as they could hold.

"Geez, Link!" Malon complained, holding a scoop of candy in her hand. "Save some for the rest of us!"

"It's alright," Cremia laughed. "There's so much food, everyone can have as much as they want, come back for seconds, and still have leftovers tomorrow."

"Do you think you can eat all that, Link?" Romani pointed at his plate as she made her way to the apple pies. "It  _is_ an awful lot."

"I'm definitely gonna try!" He grinned, and walked back to his mat. He passed by the men throwing wood into the pit, and heard them speaking in hushed tones.

"Do we have any idea who these guys are?"

"They've been robbin' everyone in the province blind, so who's doin' it doesn't matter anymore."

"I heard someone say it might be one of the neighboring ranches. Makes me sick to think it could be one of our own. Can't trust nobody these days."

"Since it's gotten so out of hand, why can't we send word to the kingdom? Maybe they could send some knights our way."

"They're too busy trying to root out the corrupt bastards infiltrating the army. There's no way we can trust them."

An older woman interrupted them by saying, "Watch your language, won't you? There are children present!"

They turned and saw Link, who had stopped walking and unintentionally eavesdropped on them. Having been caught, he hurried away to his mat and sat down. He placed his plate and bowl in front of him, but realized he had no beverage or eating utensils.

"Forgot to get milk," he said to himself and made to stand up, when a tall glass of milk, and a spoon and fork were suddenly presented to him. He looked up, and saw Ilia presenting them.

"I grabbed some extras," she said softly, and laid them next to his food.

"Thanks," he blushed. "I didn't know the thieves were here in Ordon, too."

"They've been hitting the village pretty hard, and it's made Dad really upset. He told me they were hitting the border cities in Eldin and Labrynna before they came here."

"They came to our ranch once, too," Malon interjected as she sat her mat with her full plate. "Luckily, Uncle Ingo chased them away with his shotgun, so they didn't take anything. After that, dad installed locks on all the doors."

"I'm glad your ranch is safe then. Even so, it's still awful."

Romani sat on Malon's other side.

"They took a bunch of stuff from our ranch a few nights ago. When we woke up the next morning, we were missing a lot of supplies, and even a few cows."

"That's terrible!" consoled Ilia.

"If I ever see those guys, why I oughta…" Link growled and made punching gestures at the air.

"You will most certainly not!" Cremia commanded, returning with her food. "Not so long as I'm watching over you. If any of you sees anything suspicious, you tell me or any of the other adults here, but you are  _not_ to go taking matters into your own hands! Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," all four kids grumbled.

"She wouldn't worry about me being in danger if she knew I was a Hylian," Link mumbled to himself.

A whoosh of flames suddenly jutted up from the fire pit, and everyone cheered.

"All right," Mayor Bo announced. "All the men who haven't gotten food yet can now do so, and everyone else may begin!"

The men lined up at the table of food while the children began hungrily devouring their own. The ones too young to eat on their own were helped by their mothers. Colin made a mess of his face with pumpkin soup before Uli intervened and spoon-fed him herself. Talk filled the air, and soon, everyone was laughing and discussing their plans for the New Year. A few men brought out some kegs, and drank heartily as the night drew on. Link had taken a huge chunk of meat in his mouth when Malon spoke.

"Link, did you ask Rusl about your ears?"

He chewed and swallowed hard before finally responding back.

"Well, he said it's because I'm, um…"

"C'mon!" Romani cut in. "I wanna know, too! Tell us, Link!"

Link took a deep breath.

"Rusl said my ears are like this because I'm Hylian."

"Whoa! That's so cool!"

Malon scooted over, sat behind Link and began fingering his ears.

"Stop that!" Link squirmed from her touch. "That tickles!"

"They're just like the ones in the books! Link, my brother, a Hylian!"

"Let go!" He squealed and shoved her off.

"I wanna see!" Romani scooted in closer and traced her fingers across the points of his ears.

"Are you gonna pierce your ears?"

"Why would I do that?" Link raised an eyebrow. "Only girls do that."

"Not for Hylians," Malon said. "Boy and girl Hylians pierce their ears. Remember that tall guy who came to our ranch a few weeks ago, and he wanted to by a horse? He was a Hylian, and his ears were pierced."

Link hadn't thought much of it at the time, but he remembered now that the Hylian hero in Rusl's book had pierced ears. Even so, the idea was a bit too odd for him.

"Doesn't it hurt to do that?"

"Only for a little bit, and then it looks really cool! You should do it, Link! Romani and I can help."

"Yeah, Link. You should let me and Malon do it for you."

Link realized Malon and Romani were moving in closer and closer.

"No way! Get away from me!"

He got to his feet and ran away, followed shortly by the girls. They chased Link around the fire and through the other mats. The spectacle of watching two little girls chasing after one boy made everyone in the village laugh. One of the merrier men, enjoying his buzz, shouted out.

"Ain't even grown up and he's already got the ladies after him!"

At his comment, everyone laughed hysterically.

"Link! Come back for a moment!" Cremia called.

Link stopped running when he heard his name, causing the two girls to inadvertently tackle him. They collapsed into a dog pile.

"Link! You can't just stop running like that! Give us a little warning, would ya?"

"But Cremia called us! Get off me!"

The three pulled themselves apart and brushed the dirt from their clothes. Link walked back to Cremia.

"I want to check on your foot, and see how it's doing."

He sat down and extended his foot to her, and she removed the bandage.

"Hey, where'd it go?"

"There wasn't much left of it when I went into the spring this morning," he told her.

"It's a good thing those stitches were absorbable. You don't even have a scar left. You can't even tell you were cut. I guess you don't need this anymore."

Cremia balled up the bandage in her hand and set it aside.

"Cremia, what happened earlier?"

"With what?"

"We were swimming in the pond when we saw you laughing and dancing into the village," said Link.

"Yeah," Romani agreed as she sat back on her mat. "And after we got out of the pond, I tried to go into the house, but you locked the door."

Cremia turned bright red.

"Oh dear, you saw that? I hope I didn't scare you."

"What were you doing?"

"I had an idea this morning. I was in the house all day because I was checking something."

"What were you checking?"

"For now, I can't tell you," Cremia winked as she put her finger to her lips. "It's a secret."

"Aww," Romani pouted. "Why not?"

"I won't know for sure until we get back home, but if I'm right, my idea could save the ranch."

"Then I definitely wanna know!" Malon exclaimed. "You gotta tell us, Cremia! Please?"

"I'm sorry Malon, but I can't tell you yet because I don't want to get anyone's hopes up. If it works, I promise you'll be the first to know."

"What about me?" said Romani. "You won't even tell me?"

"You get to help me personally."

Cremia reached over and took her sister in her arms, holding her tightly.

"Cremia!" Romani gasped. "You're crushing me!"

Malon and Link laughed, then went back to their food and talking with Ilia.

"Cremia?" Romani whispered, still being held hostage, though no longer with a death grip.

"Yes, Romani?"

"I miss Dad."

"I know. I do, too."

The bonfire blazed against the dark velvet sky, where starts twinkled brightly. The campout went long into the night as everyone celebrated the coming of the year. Men switched rounds to stand guard throughout the celebration.

It wasn't long before everyone took turns telling stories around the fire. Stories were told , including  _"The Man Who Lived in the Windmill," "The Island in the Sky," "The Princess and the Ancient Tribe,"_  and other folk legends, as well as experiences of the villagers themselves. Mayor Bo was telling the story of how he'd stumbled upon and wrestled with a full-grown gorilla in the forest, when Link heard Uli's voice.

"Sweetheart, you're not having fun at all. You're spending so much time worrying that you're missing all the fun."

"The woman's right, Rusl," Mayor Bo stopped his story and called to him. "We've got everything under control, so there's no need to worry. You listen to your wife."

"Didn't he just come back from Hyrule?" A man's voice shouted from the crowd.

"That's right, he did!" A woman's voice answered. "Why don't you tell a story, Rusl? You must have one!"

Suddenly, everyone chatted loudly in agreement.

"Yeah!"

"Tell us a story!"

"Yeah! Come on!"

"All right, all right!" Rusl chuckled. Mayor Bo moved from the tree stump he'd been sitting on, and Rusl took his place.

"What story are you gonna tell?" Malon called out.

Rusl put his hand to his chin, and looked over the crowd. His eyes came to rest on Link.

"I know exactly which story I'll tell. It's called, 'The Hero of Time.'"

Goosebumps formed on Link's skin. Everyone oohed, ahhed, and sat at attention as Rusl began.

* * *

_This is but one of the legends of which the people speak, one that has been passed down through uncounted generations…_

_A long, long time ago, there existed a Kingdom where a Golden Power lay hidden. Handed down by gods of old, this power gave its holder the means to make any desire a reality. The land was prosperous and blessed with green forests, tall mountains, and peace._

_But one day, a Man of Great Evil found the Golden Power, and took it for himself. With its strength at_ _his command, he spread darkness across the kingdom, and a war of unmatched scale and ferocity ensued, one of which the likes of would never be seen again._

_The earth cracked open wide and malevolent forces rushed forth from the fissure. The dark forces mounted a brutal assault upon the people, driving the land into deep despair. They burnt forests to ashes, choked the land's sweet springs, and murdered without hesitation._

_But then, when all hope had died, the world was on the verge of being swallowed by shadow, and the hour of doom seemed at hand…_

_A Boy Clothed in Green appeared as if out of nowhere. Wielding the Blade of Evil's Bane and carrying the Golden Light, he drove out the darkness with Wisdom and Courage, sealed the evil away, and gave the land light again. This boy, who traveled through time to save the land, became known as the Hero of Time, and his tale was passed down through generations until it became legend._

_When peace was finally restored, the people enshrined the sacred blade with care, and the force of the Golden Light shone forth upon the lands._

_The memory of the kingdom vanished, but its legend survived on the wind's breath, and continued onward, for whenever evil threatens the land, a boy garbed in green always appeared. They say the boy is a Hero Chosen of the Goddesses, chosen by fate to save the land should the time ever arrive._

* * *

Link was sitting on the edge of his seat. Everyone else was silent as Rusl finished his tale. Mayor Bo suddenly burst into laughter.

"You old fool, Rusl! You sure know how to put everyone on edge!"

The whole village cackled along with him.

"Why are you laughing?" Link said to no one.

"Baloney!" Malon scoffed, and blew a raspberry.

"I didn't think so," Link responded to her raspberry by blowing one of his own.

"Of course not," she retorted. "That's because boys like you are always into that stuff, where you fight monsters with swords and save the world and all that junk."

"What happened to him?" Romani called out.

"No one knows," Rusl answered. "They say he travels across Hyrule, keeping it safe while under the radar. And every time evil forces arise, the boy is reborn, so he could be out there somewhere, or he could be closer than any of us think."

The people jeered even louder.

"Stop! I can't breathe!"

"You're killing me, Rusl!"

"My sides!"

Link seethed silently, trying his hardest to block out everyone's jeering, and failing miserably. He hid his face, which grew hotter by the second, behind his hands, and held his knees to his chest. The laughter continued for several minutes until Rusl finally moved from the stump and let someone else have a turn.

Some of the drunken men began taking up folk songs, and the village began singing along. Hours of festivity went by before people finally started nodding off. The night was thankfully warm, so no one needed covers to sleep comfortably. The fire grew dim until nothing was left except hot coals. The merriment and laughter died down as the village, together under the starlit sky, fell asleep to the sounds of the night.

Link laid wide awake on his mat, staring up at the stars, his mind full from today's events.

"Link?" Malon's voice whispered. "Are you asleep?"

"No. I can't sleep," he whispered back.

"Neither can I. Today was so much fun, I get too excited thinking about it. Are you awake, Ilia?"

"I am."

Ilia rolled over to face Link and Malon.

"What was your favorite part?" Malon asked . "I liked sitting around the fire most. I thought I was gonna die laughing when one of those drunk guyshe tripped and fell face first into a pie."

"I liked when we went swimming the most," Ilia decided. "I hardly get to see you guys, so that time is precious to me."

"Is Romani awake?"

"No," Malon answered, looking over at the mat next to hers. "She and Cremia are both asleep. They look so cute holding each other like that," she cooed.

"What about you, Link? Which part did you like most?"

"I know you guys weren't there," he said, "But I think I liked when Rusl told me I was Hylian."

"Did he say anything else? Like how come your ears only became like that today? And what about those dreams you were having?"

"He said it's because I'm 'coming of age.'"

"You're what?"

"I'm growing up."

Malon didn't say anything, and the three of them lied silently as they gazed up at the stars. Once in a while, one of them would point out a familiar constellation.

"Link?" Malon started again.

"Yeah?"

"When you grow up, what do you wanna do?"

Link blurted out his answer before he could stop himself.

"I wanna be a hero!"

He clasped his hands over his mouth, but Malon already started snickering.

"I knew you were gonna say that!"

The images from Rusl's story swirled around in Link's head. He let his mind run as he recalled the man in the picture Rusl had shown him. That must've been the hero he spoke of! He pictured himself wielding a magic sword and shield, fighting evil monsters, and thwarting evil plans. Most of all though, he imagined himself a hero, going on adventures and saving people wherever he went. His imagination had gone wild all night, and it was what had kept him awake until Malon had started talking to him. To be the kind of guy that people spoke of in legends? That must've been great.

"You were listening to Rusl too much!" She laughed. "Those were just stories you know."

"I know, but…" He gazed up at the stars, and couldn't help but wear a big grin. He was too happy to care about Malon laughing at him.

"I wanna fight evil, and save people, and see the world!"

He held his hand up to the sky, clenched it tightly in a balled fist, then let his hand drop. He decided then and there,  _"When I grow up, I wanna be just like him!"_

"But Link," Ilia sat up and peered down at him. "How're you gonna do that?"

"Yeah," Malon agreed. "Unless the Goddesses themselves magically appear out of nowehere, and declare you the next Hero of Time, I don't see that happening anytime soon."

Link's imagination slowed to a halt, his dream crushed in an instant. Ilia thought carefully for moment, then addressed Malon.

"Didn't you tell me that Romani said Link could shoot arrows better than any of the Knights of the Royal Army?"

"Yeah," she replied. "What about it?"

"Well," Ilia turned back to Link. "Why don't you be one of the knights in the Royal Army?"

"That's a great idea!" Malon sat up in excitement.

"Not so loud!" Ilia whispered, then continued, "That way, you could still be a hero. You'd be serving your country, protecting the Kingdom of Hyrule, and I bet you'd do a good job, too."

"I don't know," Link hesitated. "I heard some of the men talking earlier. They said the knights in the army are really corrupt."

"That's exactly why you should join!" Malon argued. "You could go in there and show 'em what being a Royal Knight is really about! You're already a hero. You saved Romani ranch just this morning, remember?"

"I guess so," Link sighed.

"Plus, the knights in the army are stationed all over the world," Ilia continued. "It would be the best chance to travel anywhere you wanted."

"That does sound good." Link pictured a handsome adult version of himself, wearing heavy full body armor and carrying a sword in one hand and a flag bearing the symbol of Hyrule in the other. The fantasy wasn't as good as being the Hero of Time, but it was definitely the next best thing.

"I'll think about it," he finally decided.

"In the meantime," said Malon, "When I grow up, I'm gonna take over the ranch. I'll take care of all the animals, even after Dad is gone. I'll make it the best ranch ever, and when I'm not working, I'll ride the horses all day long. I'll make Lon Lon Ranch a household name." She closed her eyes, and sighed.

"What about you, Ilia?"

"When I grow up," she breathed. "I want a horse ranch by the sea. No cows or cuccos, and especially no goats. I'm sick to death of goats. I want to breed horses and sell them. I'll keep the ones that I like the most. I love horses so much, that I can't see myself doing anything else."

"You should join me on Lon Lon, Ilia!" Malon declared. "I can take care of the other animals, and you can take of the horses. And when we're not working, we can race each other. See who's the best!"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Ilia chuckled. "I would feel bad making you take care of the other animals by yourself. Plus, I don't want to race horses. Just ride them; feel the breeze in my hair as I ride across the beach against the setting sun."

The image made Link blush, and he smiled. He pictured an adult Ilia, riding a deep brown mare across the sandy beach, with the sun sinking down into the ocean and the breeze blowing through her long, golden hair. He pictured him and her, married and living together on that seaside ranch. He pictured himself wearing his Royal Knight armor and riding a pure white stallion beside Ilia and her horse; the two of them together, laughing as they rode.

Link closed his eyes and sighed dreamily. He heard scuffling beside him, opened his eyes, and despite the darkness, saw Malon's blue eyes staring straight down at him. He recoiled.

"What?!" He demanded.

"Not so loud!" She shushed him. "You're gonna wake up the others."

"What is it?"

"If you decide to become a Royal Knight, you gotta promise me."

She sat back to her own sleeping mat and looked up into the sky, hesitating. Link sat up and looked down at her.

"Promise what?"

"If you become a knight, you gotta promise to protect me."

"Huh?"

"If you join the army and they send you somewhere far away, I might never see you again. I'll be all alone on the ranch."

"Me too," Ilia joined. "I'll miss you if you leave and go far away. I know you want to travel, but…"

It was ages before any of them spoke again, and it was Malon, again, who broke the silence.

"This morning, when Romani was falling back to the ground," Malon started. "I was kind of jealous."

"Really?" Link wondered. "Why?"

"Because of what you did afterward. You ran to catch her, to save her before she hit the ground. I was jealous."

"But why?"

"Because you caught her in your arms just like a real prince, or a knight in shining armor. I know we're just kids, and I'm not in love with you or anything, but I wish I knew what that felt like."

"I know what you mean," said Ilia. "Sometimes I wonder what that feels like, too."

"Girls are weird," Link thought to himself, but the idea of being Ilia's knight in shining armor was way too good to pass up. However, something about this promise made Link feel weird. It was a good weird, though he didn't know how to explain it. He wished Romani was awake to listen.

"Okay."

"If you become a famous knight, and Ilia or I are ever in trouble, you promise to come save us."

"I promise," he said, then added, "I'll promise Romani, too."

"That's even better. If anything happens to any of us, you'll rescue us, just like a hero."

"I will…"

The three fell fast asleep, both girls lying on their sides, each holding onto one of Link's hands. His last thought as he fell asleep was,  _"This is the best day of my life."_


	7. Ordona 6: Ordona Woods

_The Ordona Woods burned before Link's eyes. Ordon Village went up in flames. Houses crumpled to coals and ashes. Ilia, Malon, and Romani were huddled together, encircled in a ring of fire._

" _Link! Help us!"_

_He ran toward them and reached out for their extended hands. Just when he was within grasp, the ring of fire swallowed them up._

" _NO!"_

_Link reached into the fire and tried to catch them anyway, but the jutting flames knocked him away and burned his hand. Evil cackling exploded behind him. He looked up and saw the dark man with fire in his eyes towering over him. He was looking down on Link._

" _I'm so close!" He yelled. "I'll find you! And when I do, I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!"_

_The man slammed his heavy fist into Link's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. As Link collapsed, the man laughed and disappeared in a flash of fire._

_Link shakily got to his feet, struggling to regain his breath. He was in the Ordona Spring, the woods around him burnt and blackened. Across the spring, he saw the wolfos made of light, and it spoke to him in a low, growling, strangely maternal voice._

" _Run, boy," the female wolfos snarled. "Run while you still can."_

_It charged at him and leapt with its sharp fangs bared. Link screamed and covered his face with his arms, bracing himself for the bloody impact. But it never came. Link peered out between his arms, and saw neither the wolfos, nor the spring. He was now in the Ordona Woods outside the village. They were whole again, unmarred by the fires from before. He lowered his arms, looked to his left, to his right, and straight ahead. Nothing but trees._

_A deafening cracking and splintering of wood erupted from a hundred-foot tall tree in front of him. Time slowed as the tree tumbled to the ground, casting a dark shadow as it crashed down on Link._

" _AAAAAGH!"_

* * *

Link's eyes snapped open and he sat upright, gasping. He was sitting on his mat in the out-of-doors, alongside everyone in the village. There was nothing left of the bonfire in front of him except for cold, black coals. Everyone around him slept soundlessly. The waning moon and stars lit up the forest and village in an eerie blue light.

"Link?"

A urking noise slipped from Link's throat as he whipped around toward the voice. He cringed from a lit oil lamp and a concerned Rusl.

"You okay, son?"

"…No."

"Why don't you come and sit with me?"

Rusl extended his strong hand, and Link gazed groggily at it before returning his own. He felt himself being lifted off the ground, then set gently down on his feet.

"Come on. You can keep watch with me."

Rusl stepped carefully over and around each sleeping person that lied on the ground. Link stood and swayed back and forth sleepily, then shook his head and followed after him. It was a wonder he didn't trip over any of the other villagers. Rusl led Link to a willow tree with branches that hung down as low as the ground, creating a natural hiding place for them. He pushed aside the draping curtain of branches, revealing a wide root that grew out from the ground. Rusl sat on the root, placing the lamp on the ground. Link sat next to him.

"I've been keeping watch now for about five hours."

"Aren't you tired?" Link blinked, rubbing his eyes.

"I'll stay up all night if I have to."

"What about the others? Weren't they supposed to help keep watch, too?"

"They got so drunk, they're out cold for the night."

"That's not fair," Link moaned, and Rusl nodded.

The two waited together on the tree root as they watched the path and forest between the willow's overhanging fingers. There were no sounds except the barely audible burning wicker of the oil lamp, and the chirping of distant tektites. They let the stillness of the night surround them.

"Link."

"Yeah?"

"You were tossing and turning the whole night through. You okay?"

Link sighed and looked down unintentionally at his hands.

"My hand…" he gasped.

"What?"

Link opened his eyes wide in horror and examined the burn wound on his hand; the same one he'd gotten in his dream.

"What's wrong, Link?"

"I dreamed…that my friends were burning…and when I tried to save them…I got burned too."

"Link, what happened?"

Rusl's voice grew stern and critical, but Link was beside himself, and broke down.

"Why is this happening to me?!"

He sobbed and clasped his hands over his face. He tried his hardest to keep quiet, but he couldn't stifle his sniffles or hiccups. His hot, salty tears stung the surreal burn. Rusl grabbed Link by the shoulders and shook him forcefully.

"Link! You listen to me!"

Link stopped crying and stared straight into Rusl's crazed eyes.

"You can beat him, you hear me?! You can beat him, but you've got to get a grip on yourself."

"What?!" Link demanded, bewildered. "Beat who?"

Rusl stared back urgently at Link, and abruptly released him.

"Sorry."

"Rusl?"

Rusl refused to look at Link.

"Something else is happening to me."

Rusl finally turned to face him.

"This isn't just Hylian puberty, is it? All these dreams, they don't make sense. I'm going crazy!"

"Link, take a deep breath, and tell me what happened in your dream."

Link gulped in as much air as he could, and exhaled. He recalled the details of his nightmare more effectively than he would've liked, and relayed the events of his dream to Rusl.

"First the fire, then the dark man, then the wolfos, and the tree?"

"Yes sir."

"You've told me about the fire and the man before, but what about the wolfos?"

"Actually, I saw the wolfos the same day I disappeared in the forest, and saw the Goddesses in the stars. I'd forgotten all about it."

"What about the tree? Have you dreamt anything like that before?"

"No, sir. This is the first time I've seen anything like it."

"Link, look at me, and listen to me very carefully."

"What?"

"Your name is very important. Don't ever give it away to anyone."

"Why not?"

"Just listen. If anyone you don't know asks for your name, do not give it to them. Do you understand?"

"Okay."

Why Rusl felt the need to give him a lecture on stranger danger, especially when he had much bigger problems, was beyond Link.

"I'm serious, Link! No matter what happens, don't ever give your name out to anyone you don't trust! Make up a name if you have to, you can even use mine if you can't think of one, but don't ever give out your name carelessly!"

"Okay, okay! I got it!"

"Keep that in mind, and keep your eyes open. You're a smart kid, Link."

Link didn't bother asking anymore questions, now that he was more confused that ever.

"We can talk more in the morning, but for now, let me see your hand."

"It doesn't hurt much," he lied. "Only when I touch it."

Link reluctantly gave his hand to Rusl, who carefully scrutinized the burn wound. It was a superficial second degree burn; his skin was bright red, and a blister had formed on his thumb. Small pieces of skin flaked off where the burn was most prevalent.

"Are you sure you didn't accidentally put your hand in the bonfire while you slept?"

"We weren't sitting anywhere near the fire. We were in the back, remember?"

"You can go into the spring as soon as the sun rises, but it's too dangerous to go in the middle of the night. Try and get some sleep. Can you find your way back to your mat?"

"I think so. The stars make it really bright out here."

Link pushed himself off the root of the tree.

"Link?"

"Yes, sir?"

"I'm sorry I grabbed you earlier. I didn't mean to frighten you. I know you're confused, but right now isn't the time to talk. Don't worry, the answer will come eventually. It always does."

"Thank you, Rusl."

"Don't mention it."

Link parted the willow drape and stepped out of the light of the lamp. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the moon and starlight before slowly making his way back to his empty mat. Malon stirred and turned onto her other side, facing away from him. The image of her being devoured by flames came back to him, and he shuddered.

" _If anything happens to any of us, you'll come and save us, just like a hero. Right, Link?"_

"I promise I won't let anyone hurt you. Ever."

Link lied down and gazed up at the stars. Going back to sleep only frightened him, since the thought of having another nightmare was unbearable.

His eyelids were finally fluttering closed when he realized he heard unfamiliar voices within earshot. His heart skipped a beat. Without realizing that his hearing abilities had doubled since his ears had grown, Link listened in on the apparent conversation.

"…ya hurry up? Someone's gonna hear us."

"I'm tryin', but these boxes are really heavy."

Boxes? What boxes?

"We just gotta get across the bridge with as many as we can, and we'll be safe."

The bridge? Were they talking about the bridge outside of town, the one overlooking the canyon?

"I swear, the owner of Romani Ranch is an idiot."

Romani Ranch?!

"No!"

Link sat up quickly. The thieves! They were here, and they were taking the milk!

"Who's there?!"

Link quickly laid back down and lied perfectly still.

"Not so loud! You nearly woke up the whole dang village!"

"I could've swore I saw somethin'."

"It was probably just one of 'em movin' in their sleep. Let's just go already. There ain't too many left."

How did they even get into the village?! Wasn't Rusl keeping watch?

From what Link could tell, there were only two of them, and they didn't sound nice at all. He also heard them say 'there ain't too many left.'

"What do I do?!"

Link's heart was practically bursting from his chest.

"I can't just lie here and let them take the milk! If they do, Cremia will be ruined! I gotta do something!"

Link lifted his hand out past his head as far as he could, flipped over onto his stomach, and began crawling as swiftly as he could. With the same he'd used when Romani challenged him to shoot the targets with a bow and arrow, he weaved through all the sleeping villagers without making a single sound, and didn't stop until he came back to the willow where Rusl was sitting.

"Rusl! Rusl!" He hissed loudly.

It was no use. Rusl was fast asleep, snoring loudly, his head slumped over on his shoulder. He wasn't waking up anytime soon. Link felt his heart plummet into his stomach.

"What do I do? What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?!"

Link jumped back and forth between trying to shake Rusl awake and looking to see where the thieves could have gone. Every second he lost more and more hope; he felt sure the thieves were taking the milk and cutting town that very second.

"Oh man! What do I do?! Oh, Goddess, somebody help me!"

Piercing blue eyes suddenly entered his mind, and Link froze. The man from the picture in the book infiltrated his vision and impaled every sense of panic that had seized him.

" _But then, when all hope had died, and the hour of doom seemed at hand…a boy clothed in green appeared as if out of nowhere. Wielding the blade of evil's bane, he drove out the darkness with wisdom and courage…"_

Yeah! That's right! Link wanted to be a hero, didn't he? It was his big chance, and he was running around like an idiot, instead of going out there and stopping those guys himself! How could he be so blind?!

He didn't have time to think. He had to stop those guys no matter what, and there wasn't a moment to lose! But how, was the question.

"I've got an idea." Link grinned and sprinted for the bridge.

* * *

"Try not to drop any of the boxed," one of thieves directed. "They're no good to us if they're broken."

Following his direction immediately was the sound of a box hitting the ground and of a bottle smashing into pieces.

"What the hell did I just say?!"

"Sorry, bro," the other apologized. "These boxes are packed way too tight."

"Just keep movin', would ya?"

The two gruff and humorless men finished carrying two more boxes to the carriage waiting by the bridge, when the younger of them noticed something strange.

"Hey bro?" he said. "Where'd all the milk go?"

The older one looked and noticed that several boxes in their carriage were gone.

"Confound it! We've been had! Get back to the village and get the last of the milk! And hurry, before they wake up!"

The younger brother sprinted back toward the village while the elder began searching the woods. With a lit oil lamp in hand, he shoved aside bushes and branches with the least bit of regard. He tore away a smaller bush when he saw four of the milk crates, each one stacked on top of the other.

"Ha! Found ya!"

"Found what, mister?"

The man gave a loud yelp when he saw a boy no older than nine sitting cheekily on top of the stacked milk crates.

"Why you little-"

Those were his last words before the boy leaped off and smashed a boulder down on his head, hard enough to knock him out. The man flopped to the ground, dropping the oil lamp in his hand. Link picked up the lamp and set it upright, away from the trees and any loose foliage.

"Now to wait for the other one."

"What's goin' on back there?"

A voice Link hadn't heard until now called out from the driver's seat. He ducked into the forest just as the carriage driver stepped down from his seat and walked around to the back.

"Of course they'd have a driver!" Link mentally slapped himself. "How could I be so stupid?!"

"What the- Gorman?! Wake up, man!"

The driver stooped down and grabbed the unconscious man's shoulders, trying to shake him awake.

"You can't sleep at a time like this!"

"What an idiot!"

Link sneered, and jumped up into the branches above him.

"Who's there?!" The driver called out to the forest, hearing the rustling of the branches. He looked all about the forest but saw nothing.

The sound of a snapping twig came from the other side of the woods, and the driver sped around.

"Show yourself!"

"Don't hurt me!" Link cried out, weakly limping out of the forest into full view. The driver relaxed.

"It's just a kid," he sighed in relief. "What're you doin' in the woods in the middle of the night?"

"I was trying to get home," he grunted, grabbing at his hand. "But I got lost, and then I was attacked by the Takkuri."

"A takkuri? Shoot kid, that ain't no big deal."

"Not  _a_  takkuri.  _The_  Takkuri."

"What's  _the_  takkuri?"

"It's like a regular takkuri, but it's as big as a mountain, and it breathes fire! It got my hand, see?"

Link shoved his burnt hand into the driver's face, who backed away in revulsion.

"Yuck! Yes, I see!"

Link looked down at the man he'd knocked unconscious, and gasped.

"Oh no! The Takkuri's here! It must've killed him!"

The driver's forehead started beading drops of sweat.

"It'll come back! You've gotta get outta here!"

"What do I do?! I'm waitin' for someone, but I don't wanna be killed by no fire-breathing bird!"

"They're probably dead, too! Get outta here!" Link yelled. "Save yourself, or it'll kill you, too!"

The driver ran back towards the carriage.

"Wait! Look at all the milk you've got in the back!" Link warned, pointing to the carriage's load. "You'll never make it out alive if you're carrying all that! It'll weigh you down!"

"Yeah, good idea!"

The driver jumped into the back of the cart and started throwing out the milk crates as fast as he could. With his newly-gained Hylian speed, Link darted back and forth, catching each box of milk before they hit the ground and carefully placing them upright.

"Thanks for the warning, kid!"

The driver, now steering a completely empty carriage, snapped at the reins, set the drawn horse at a mad dash, and galloped away. It didn't take long for the carriage to cross the bridge and disappear into the night.

"Good thing they weren't stealing Cremia's cart, too," Link smiled as brushed his hands and watched the carriage go. "Now for the next part."

Link approached a nearby tree and ripped off several tender young limbs, bending and stretching them. Using them as a makeshift rope, Link tied them together and used the tied branches to bind the unconscious thief's hands and feet together.

Next, Link used a trick that Talon had shown him a long time ago; he'd have to re-proportion it to work right, but it wouldn't be too hard to figure out.

Link found a tree deeper in the woods that was young and supple compared to the surrounding ones. It stood about twenty-five feet high, and flexed back and forth easily when he tested it. He broke off the extending limbs, and made another extra long rope out of them. Leaving the rope at the base of the tree, he climbed up to the very top, and under his weight, the tip of the tree bent down until it reached the ground. While still holding onto the top, Link carefully stepped onto the ground, and picked up the rope he'd made, and tied it tightly around the tip. When he released the rope, the tree swung back upright.

Link then marched to where he'd left the bound and unconscious man, dragged him back, and laid him eight feet away from the tree snare. He then climbed the tree once more, far enough to reach the rope, and jumped down. The tree bent at the drag of the rope, so Link pulled on it even further until it was nice and tight and wouldn't bend anymore without breaking. Stamping his foot down on the rope to keep it down, Link grabbed the end of the rope and made a noose out of it. He then carefully looped the noose around the unconscious man's hands and feet, and stepped off the rope. The tree flung back, carrying the man with it. The noose tightened and the man hung against the tree's bark, low enough that Link could jump up and touch him.

"He won't be going anywhere anytime soon."

Link ripped the sleeve from his sweater, and ripped it again lengthwise. He used both of the new pieces to blindfold and gag the man. He'd just finished the task when the thief started coming to. His moans as he awoke and his screams for help were muffled by the makeshift gag.

"Don't worry, mister. I'll take good care of you."

The thief's screams for help quickly turned into screams of rage. He struggled to get loose, swinging back and forth on the end of the rope.

"What in blazes?! Now where's the carriage?!"

The younger thief's voice exploded angrily from the path. Link picked up a loose pebble, and tossed it out towards the path. It landed with a 'plink,' just in front of where the thief stood. He looked into the woods, and Link ducked into a nearby bush and waited. The man tore into the forest.

"Brother?! What are you doing up there?"

The tied-up thief wriggled, let out smothered yells, and shook his head.

"Don't worry. I'll get you down."

The younger reached up into the tree and undid the elder's gag.

"IT'S A TRAP!"

Too late. Before the younger thief knew what hit him, Link took the same boulder he'd used before and bashed it over his head, doing away with the last thief. He collapsed while still holding the part of Link's sleeve.

"YOU LITTLE SHIT! WHEN I GET DOWN FROM HERE, I'LL SMASH YOUR FACE IN!"

Link reached down, pulled his sleeve out of the comatose thief's hand, and tied it over the other thief's mouth again, muting the furious curses to muffles once more. With a few more tender tree limbs, Link bound the last man's hands and feet together, and after ripping off his other sleeve, blindfolded and gagged him just like his brother. He didn't bother to tie him into the tree the way he had with the other; he decided there was no need for that.

"What do I do now? I have to wake someone up, but I can't leave them here by themselves."

Unbeknownst to Link, the thief hanging in the tree fingered through his own pockets despite the ties, looking for his concealed knife. He soon found the dagger and began sawing away at his bonds.

"Maybe I can check and see if Rusl will wake up again," Link thought.

At that moment, the branch rope came undone, and the thief tumbled to the ground.

Link jumped back in shock and barely dodged as the thief took a blind swing at him with his knife, making contact with Link's face and slicing his cheek. The thief ripped off his blindfold and gag and made a grab at Link, but Link swerved to the right and managed to jump into a tree out of reach.

"GET DOWN HERE YOU BRAT! YOU'RE GONNA FUCKING PAY!"

An impending sense of doom crept up on Link as he realized his plan had failed. He stuck one of his fingers into the open slash on his cheek. Ignoring the pain, he coated his finger as much as possible and flung the blood down at the raging thief beneath him. The drops of blood fell into the thief's eyes, and he screamed and clawed at his eyes.

Link jumped out of the tree and kicked the thief in the face on his way down. They both crashed to the ground, sprawled out on the forest floor. The knife flew out of the thief's hand and rolled into a bush.

The thief quickly stood up, and with furious bloodshot eyes, grabbed at Link one more time, and succeeded. He lifted Link clear off the ground by the collar of his sweater, who writhed in the man's grasp.

"You're not getting away from me this time!"

The man wound up his fist and punched Link in the mouth. Blood, saliva, and a tooth flew out of Link's lips as the man wound up and punched him again, this time right below his eye. The man pounded him one more time, hitting him on the open cut on his cheek, and Link blacked out. The man threw Link against a tree, and he felt himself slam into its trunk before he fell on his flat on his stomach and passed out.

* * *

Link groaned and finally roused. His cheek throbbed painfully, and he tasted iron in his mouth. He knew he was going to have a black eye, and as he tried to move his hand to touch the swelling bruise, he realized he couldn't. He looked down and saw a coarse rope that tied him around the trunk of a tree. He grunted and squirmed, trying to free himself.

"Don't even try it, you little shit."

Link looked up and saw both of the thieves standing over him. The other one must've woken up while he was unconscious.

"Let…me go," Link weakly demanded.

"Not on your life," The younger thief laughed.

Link slowly became aware of his situation again, and found that his whole body was in a great deal of pain, not just his face. They must've beaten him after he blacked out. The taste of iron became unbearable to to Link, and he spat on the ground. A dangerous amount of blood fell out of his mouth. The cords were tied so tight he could barely breath. He coughed and his chest suddenly lit up on fire. They must've kicked him in the chest, too.

"What's your name, kid?" The older thief demanded.

" _If anyone you don't know asks for your name, do not give it to them. Use my name if you can't think of one. Do you understand, Link?"_

"R-rusl," Link managed to say.

"Look at his ears, bro," the younger thief pointed at him. "He's Hylian."

"So what?"

"They ain't pierced, though."

"Hey. Why ain't your ears pierced,  _Rusl_?" The elder snickered. Link frowned.

"I w-was raised by h-humans." He gasped, bursting his lungs when he breathed in too deeply. He coughed again. The older thief smiled maliciously.

"What a freak."

Nothing that the man had said, not even his vulgar language, had hurt Link in the slightest, until now. The word 'freak' echoed traumatically in his mind. It must've shown on his face.

"What's the matter, kid?" The man asked mockingly. "Strike a nerve?"

Link glared up angrily at the man with his pale eyes. The man's taunting sneer turned down into a thoughtful frown.

"Bro. Go get the rock the snot used to knock us out. Bring it here."

He definitely didn't like the sound of that, but all Link could do was watch and listen. The younger one ran off into the forest while the older one stayed behind. He pulled out the knife he'd recovered earlier, approached Link so that he his face was only a few inches from his, and leisurely moved the knife back and forth across Link's line of vision. As Link followed the path of the knife as it swung to and fro, a wave of adrenaline ran through Link's body. He wanted to run away.

"You're gonna pay, kid. For everything you did to us."

The younger thief came staggering back under the weight of the heavy boulder.

"This thing weighs a ton!"

He heaved, and dropped the humongous rock onto the ground. It landed with a thud.

"I guess…" Link wheezed. "You're just weak."

He smirked, but his tease was quickly followed by a hard whack to the face.

"Shut up!" The older thief yelled. "Just who do you think you are, huh?! You think your some kinda hero, here tah save the day?!"

Link spat up more blood and coughed violently, the fire in his lungs flaring up again. He felt his stomach retch aggressively in pain.

The man stooped down, put his face right next to Link's, and spoke in a harsh whisper.

"Well I got news for you kid. Y-"

"I'm not."

He finished the man's statement before he had a chance too, and the man raised an eyebrow at Link.

" _What a freak."_

The words hit him over and over again. He wasn't a hero, or anything like it. These were two older men way bigger than he was, and he was stupid to think he could stop them. He was just a normal boy on a normal ranch, or at least he had been. Everything that had happened to him over the last few day had taken that away; he didn't even know  _what_ he was anymore.

Link's life flashed before his eyes, including the people he'd always thought of as family: Talon and Malon and Ingo and Cremia and Romani and everyone in Ordon Village. Suddenly, they didn't seem like much of a family after all. Talon was Malon's dad, and Mayor Bo was Ilia's dad, and even Romani and Cremia had a father before he died, but what about Link? Where was  _his_ dad, or his mom for that matter? Where did they go? Why weren't they here to protect their son?

Beaten up and beaten down, poor Link came up with the answer that most children come up with.

"They didn't want me, because it's true. I  _am_ a freak."

Link's head slumped down onto his chest, and he carefully breathed in and out, trying not to flare up his lungs again. He could feel a knot in his throat, but he didn't care.

"Forget this," the older thief said to his younger brother. He'd heard Link mutter what was to him nonsensical gibberish, and he'd had enough.

"Give me that boulder."

The younger thief lifted up the heavy rock and passed it to his older brother, who raised it up above his head.

"Say goodbye,  _Rusl_."

As Link waited patiently to have his brains beaten out, he thought of Malon, and he remembered the day they'd spent in the forest not too long ago. He could almost hear her singing along with his flute.

"I'm sorry, Malon. I couldn't keep your promise."

The boulder came crashing down.

Link heard a snap, and the first thing that came to his mind was that it was the sound of his own neck breaking. He was proven utterly wrong when the snap was proceeded by a blinding flash.

"What the- gack!"

Link's vision was completely gone; he only saw bright white and stars, but he could still make out the sounds of a struggle of some sort go on between the two thieves. He heard the banging of metal, thwacking of fists, as if someone was wrestling, and soon, the noises stopped.

He felt the ropes that bound him to the trunk being removed. His body slumped forward and was caught by two strong, warm arms. He was being carried, but he didn't know where. His mind was so disorientated that it hadn't even occurred to him to consider who his savior was.

As his vision slowly returned, he squinted up at the person rescuing him. He couldn't make out any details of his face, except for his ears; they were the same as his. An instant healing sensation came over Link as he felt himself being slowly lowered into water. He noticed in the east the the sky was lighting up, and he finally got a good luck at the person's face.

Even though the sun hadn't risen yet, Link could clearly see the piercing blue eyes gazing deeply down at him. Through his swollen eye, he saw a green cap on the man's head, and messy blond hair shooting out from underneath it.

"It's… it's you…" He whispered.

The warm man holding him in the water was more surprised at Link's statement than Link was. He stared at Link with a look of epiphany in his eyes.

Link heard a familiar voice talking to this new person, but he felt himself slipping away and couldn't hear very well. He saw Rusl's silhouette standing over him next to the one holding him, saying something. He managed to catch the last bit before he finally went to sleep.

"…know if it's against the rules to tell you this, Link, but I knew all along, and you turned out pretty good…"

* * *

"…gonna be okay?"

"We won't know until he wakes up."

"Has the doctor arrived yet?"

"He's on his way, but for now, all we can do is wait."

"Please let us in! We wanna see him!"

"Hush, girls. Not so loud."

"Poor Link. He's been through so much."

"Sorry girls, but you have to leave now."

Faded colors swam around and came into focus as Link's eyes opened. The voices he'd heard had been nothing but muddled sounds, but became comprehensible as he woke. He found he was lying on a firm bed. He tried to sit up, but groaned in pain when his chest flared up, so he flopped back down.

"Hear that? He's awake! Can we see him now, please?!"

"Girls, wait!"

Malon, Romani, and Ilia rushed into the room, cautiously approaching Link's bed, while Cremia followed behind them. Before any of them had a chance, Cremia said, "Don't ask him too many things right now."

"Why not?" asked Romani.

Ilia took hold of Link's hand and started petting it.

"Link, can you hear us?" she asked.

"Nngh…yeah," he mumbled back.

"Can you remember anything?" Malon's eyes were filled with concern as she knelt by Link's pillow.

"…Not really."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he had some memory loss," Rusl's voice came from outside the room as he stood in the frame of the door.

Seeing Rusl, Link's clouded mind began to clear, little by little.

"The spring…" he said groggily.

"That's where Rusl found you, Link," Cremia explained, keeping her voice at a low whisper. "You were very badly injured."

Images of the thieves and his efforts to keep them from stealing the milk entered Link's memory.

"The thieves…tried to stop them but…they tried to kill me."

"Girls, move aside," Cremia ordered them. Ilia, Malon, and Romani stepped away from him, and Cremia and Rusl approached Link's bed.

"They did quite a number on you, Link," Rusl said calmly. "We found quite a few bruises on your body, and the doctor will probably find even more once he gets here. They broke your arm and several of your ribs."

"So that's why my chest hurts so much," Link thought to himself.

"Do you think you can drink anything?" asked Cremia. Link nodded his head slowly.

"I'll hold his head up, " Rusl instructed Cremia. He gently slipped his hand underneath Link's neck and lifted him while Cremia slowly poured water from a bottle into his mouth. The pain in his chest and arm slowly dissolved.

"This is water from the spring, Link," Rusl informed him. "It can't heal internal injuries like broken bones or organ damage if you only step into the spring; you have to drink it to do that."

"The milk!… Is it…?"

"Don't worry," Rusl continued. "The other villagers are recovering it and taking it back to Ordon Ranch as we speak."

"What about…the thieves?"

"They're being detained. Mayor Bo is questioning them right now. They won't be going anywhere."

"We found them tied up next to all the boxes of milk," Cremia said quietly. "Do you know anything about that, Link?"

He shook his head. He remembered tying them up before, but they'd gotten undone when they'd beaten him.

Link's stomach suddenly retched again, and he sat straight up and heaved. He didn't vomit like he thought he was going to, but his heaving and suddenly sitting up started up a violent fit of coughing that made his chest scream in agony. Blood flowed freely from his mouth, staining his sweater and the bed's sheets. At the sudden fit, the three girls cried out and stepped forward, but stopped when Cremia held up her hand.

"That doctor needs to hurry up," Rusl said bitingly. "He always takes his sweet ass time."

"Rusl, please! There's no need for language," Cremia ordered him. "Maybe it'd be better if everyone else waited outside."

"No!" All three of the girls immediately protested.

"We won't leave him!" Malon loudly declared.

"I know, girls. I'm just as worried as you are, but all this noise isn't any good for Link. He needs his rest."

"Cremia, I understand what you're getting at, but I agree with the girls," Rusl pleaded. "If it were me, I'd want to be with the ones I love."

Cremia was her wit's end. She inhaled deeply before yelling.

"GET OUT!"

At her extreme outburst, all three girls and Rusl reluctantly left the room.

"You're making a mistake," Rusl murmured before closing the door behind him.

"I thought she said noise was  _bad_ for him," Malon complained before the door closed.

Cremia knelt down by Link's bed once more and steadied him. She carefully wiped the blood away from his mouth. Once he finally stopped coughing, she cleaned up the remaining blood.

"Link, I'm not very happy with you right now."

"No duh," Link thought. He wasn't exactly happy with her either. Rusl had been right; he wanted to see the others so badly, and he wished she hadn't shoved them out, but he didn't have the strength to say so out loud.

"When Rusl woke us up this morning, and showed you to us, we were all scared out of our wits! I told you that if  _anything_ happened, you were to tell one of the adults, but you didn't! Why would you  _do_ that?"

Cremia kept her eyes down the whole time she worked. She spoke in an angry and exasperated tone that irritated Link.

"I wonder if this is what having a mom is like," he thought.

His mood changed instantly when he saw tears falling from Cremia's eyes, even though she'd tried to hide them.

"Why, Link? Why did you do that?"

She cupped her face into her hands and wept. Link's heart broke watching her. He lifted his good hand and gingerly placed it on Cremia's knee.

"I'm sorry…"

Cremia looked up into Link's worried sympathetic eyes. She grasped hold of his hand.

"Link," she sobbed. "This is the second time in two days that you've saved my ranch. You don't know how much this means to me. Thank you…"

Her teardrops streamed from her eyes and down Link's hand and arm, but he didn't mind.

"Thank you…Thank you so much…"

Cremia looked up at Link, and saw his frail smile through her tears. She couldn't help but smile back.

"Thank you…Link…"

* * *

"I'm tellin' ya, it's true!"

A gaggle of rough men, gathered in a saloon in an unknown location, laughed at the storyteller's expense. Each one held a pint of foaming beer in his hand, and drank heartily as they laughed. They'd been there all night, drinking to the New Year, when a carriage drove up to the bar, and the driver burst in with his hilarious tale.

"A takkuri as big as a mountain, and breathes fire?! You're drunk, man!"

"Maybe, but I know what I heard. That kid wasn't lyin'. He had the burn on his hand ta prove it. He showed it to me."

The men fell out of their seats laughing, taking care not to spill their drinks.

"And this kid. This kid," one of them wheezed, trying to regain his breath. "He told you ta run away and leave everything behind, or else the 'Takkuri' was gonna eat you?!"

"You're not drunk!" One of them gasped. "You're an idiot!"

"You're insane!"

At this, the men in the bar busted up in one cacophony of laughter. They jeered at the carriage driver's story, pointing their fingers at him and howling. The driver's face turned crimson in rage and embarrassment.

"Why that little punk! If I ever seem him again, I'll make him pay!"

The bartender, who'd been laughing alongside his customers, interrupted their guffawing.

"You didn't happen to get a good look at this kid now, did you?"

"Yeah, I did actually. He had blond hair and these really strange blue eyes. He also had ears like a Hylian."

The driver stopped and looked suspiciously at the bartender.

"You don't know him, do you?"

"I was gonna say I did, until you mentioned his ears. It sounded like a kid who lives with Talon over on Lon Lon ranch. He adopted him when he found him right outside his ranch, when he was just a babe. It ain't too far from here. But that kid ain't Hylian, so it can't be him."

Just then, a massive hand came out of nowhere, reached over, and lifted the carriage driver clear off his feet. The driver suddenly found himself looking into a pair of yellow eyes so filled with hatred and avarice, that he started shaking out of utter fear.

"This boy," the dark man demanded. "Where is he now?"

The driver stammered helplessly.

"Ah-I-uh-"

"Where?!"

"I-I saw him right outside Ordon Village, so that must be where he is now, I swear!"

The towering man tossed the carriage driver at the table where the other men were drinking, knocking over the table and a pitcher of beer. As the table clattered to the ground, no one dared breath a word.

"Thanks."

With an evil grin, the eight-foot man took two strides toward the bar door, opened it wide, and slammed it behind him. It took several minutes before anyone moved or said anything. The fun which had been there just a moment ago was ripped to shreds.

"Who  _was_ that guy?" One of them finally asked.

"He came in a few hours ago," the bartender revealed. "Didn't take his order cause he scared me shitless. I can tell when people wanna be left alone."

"What makes ya say that?"

"'He took a seat over in that booth, the one next to the window, and just fumed the whole time he was here. I didn't know what he was mad about, and I didn't care. He looked like he wanted to murder the next person who bothered him."

"Why didn't we see him before?"

"Cause you idiots were too busy getting drunk to notice him, that's why!" The bartender spoke angrily. "And you!"

He pointed at the carriage driver who lied on the ground soaked in beer.

"Why'd ya go an' tell him where that kid was?!"

"The guy nearly made me piss myself!" The driver cursed furiously. "I wasn't gonna  _not_ tell him! You said so yourself, the guy scared ya shitless."

"The kid may have humiliated you, but that doesn't mean he deserves what's about to come to him! Don't you get it?! You just sent death to that kid's door!"

* * *

Link lied uncomfortably in his bed. Cremia had left the room to let him sleep. He stared up at the ceiling, feeling aches throughout his body, but was ultimately bored. If Malon or Ilia or Romani were here, he'd at least have someone to talk to, but all he could do was count the tiles on the ceiling and wait for the doctor they said would soon arrive. The problem was that there were no tiles on the ceiling, so he didn't even have that luxury. He thought about the ocarina, and how he could talk to Saria if he had the chance, but the ocarina was still with the rest of his stuff in Fado's old house.

All he could do was try to remember what had happened with the thieves. He recalled how he'd tried bravely to stop the thieves, but how they'd overtaken him and had kicked the crap out of him. He remembered his feelings of hopelessness and shame right before the thieves were about to crack his skull open like a cucco's egg. But there was something else he couldn't remember, no matter how hard he tried.

He recalled the snapping sound, and the white light that had blinded him, but after that, nothing else. He strained his thoughts as best he could, striving desperately to callback the information that eluded him: who had saved him in the forest?

It hadn't been Rusl, he remembered that much, but if it wasn't him, then who else could it have been? The man who'd saved him was very strong, but wasn't as big as Mayor Bo, so it couldn't have been him either. It wasn't Cremia, because she said Rusl had to wake her up when they found him. He was pretty sure it wasn't a woman who rescued him anyway, and it certainly hadn't been Malon, Romani, or Ilia; there was no way any of them could've carried him that easily.

Was it one of the other men from the village that he didn't know very well? Maybe, but for some reason, Link wanted to rule that idea out. He wasn't sure why, but something told him his rescuer wasn't someone from the village. Perhaps it was someone passing through who saw that he needed help.

Link groaned, wishing he could turn onto his side, but knew he'd hurt himself in the process if he did. He wished desperately to know who the man who'd saved his life was. He wanted to thank him with all his heart. His thoughts went back to the night before, and he absently recalled the pictures Rusl had shown him, and the story he'd told around the fireplace. Link wondered how funny it would be if the Hero of Time had been the one who'd saved his life, and he managed to chuckle once without hurting his chest again.

Wait a minute! The Hero of Time! Link's memories before he'd blacked out suddenly came back to him. He saw the man's face, and his Hylian ears, and the green cap on his head! It wasn't very much of the picture, but it sure was enough to convince him. The Hero of Time had saved his life!

Link's heart skipped a beat, and hard goosebumps formed on his skin. He stared at the ceiling in amazement.  _The_ Hero of Time! He'd been there, and he'd fought off those two thugs like they were nothing! Even though he hadn't seen the actual scrap, Link knew it must've been that way. He knew the Hero was a good man, and he was right! Not only did the Hero save the kingdom of Hyrule, but he went out of his way to rescue a boy he didn't know from being killed by two ordinary thugs!

Now Link was too excited to sleep. He giggled happily, but stopped when his chest started to hurt again. He didn't care though. It had happened just like the story; just when Link had lost all hope, and his hour of doom was at hand, there he was to save the day!

Link closed his eyes and basked in the memory. He wished he hadn't been blinded by that light, so he could've seen how the Hero had taken down those two good-for-nothings. He wondered if he'd used his sword, or maybe his shield, or maybe he just went down to the brow and decided to go all out with a fist fight. Link's spirits soared back up, and he felt so whole, it was almost as if he wasn't lying in bed with several broken bones.

"Thank you, Hero of Time," He thought to himself. "I don't know where you are, but thank you!"

Happy as can be, Link opened his eyes. He gasped and flinched. His happiness shattered, and was replaced by blind instinctual fear when he saw a tall dark man looming over him. His nightmares instantly flooded back to him; his home, his family and his friends, everything he knew and loved was on fire, and the man responsible for all of it was here. The man with fire in his eyes had come for him.

Link scooted away from the man, but was cornered into the wall.

"Hello, little hero," the huge man greeted Link, his voice dripping with ecstasy and quiet rage. "I've been looking for you."

Link opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. The man chuckled and half-heartedly lifted his hand. Link suddenly levitated off the bed and into the air. Petrified, he didn't dare move a muscle.

"Let's go someplace where we can talk."

In a dark violet flash, both Link and the giant man disappeared from the room.

* * *

Having crossed the bridge overlooking the forest canyon, an ancient gelding and its overweight rider slowly rode into the Ordona Woods and closer to the village. The horse pawed at the ground stubbornly, anxious for its rider to dismount.

"Hey there!" The rider kicked the horse hard in the stomach. "We're almost there, you don't gotta- WHOA!"

At the kick to its stomach, the horse raced off, and the two of them went flying down the forest path. It only took a few minutes before the horse galloped into Ordon Village. The horse streaked by several of the villagers, nearly running over them.

"Stop this crazy thing!" The rider cried out, holding on for dear life.

Ilia ran in front of the horse's path and held her hands out as high as she could. The angry gelding skidded to a stop and reared up on its hind legs, braying loudly.

"It's okay," Ilia lowered her hands, and spoke in a cooing murmur.

"It's okay…"

At her gentle words, the horse stood down onto its front legs, and breathed heavily. It lowered its head and scraped its shoe against the dirt, getting ready to charge. Ilia carefully approached the angry animal and ran her fingers across its nose.

"There's nothing to fear. You're all right here. We're good people…"

The horse lifted its head and began to sniff Ilia's shirt and face. While she calmed the animal, Malon helped the rider off the horse.

"That crazy animal!" He yelled. "It 'bout decked me off!"

"Are you the doctor, sir?"

"Yes, I am! Gods help me, I must be insane to take house calls like these. I can't stand horses!"

"Please hurry!"

Without a moment to lose, Malon took the doctor's hand and proceeded to drag him across the village.

"Wait a minute! Slow down, girly!"

"We don't have time to wait! Link could die at any minute!"

She pulled him to the house where Link was lying in bed. Outside the house waiting for the doctor was Cremia, Romani, and Rusl.

"Good to see you, Doctor," Rusl addressed him.

"I should think not! I get sent for at the crack of dawn, and I was forced to take that unruly animal to get here as fast as I could, and now this girl drags me about and tells me of dying boys!"

Rusl laughed. "I'm sorry we had to put you through so much trouble. The situation is somewhat dire, but I can assure you that the boy is nowhere near dying."

"Yes he is!" Romani interjected. "I saw him too, you know! He was coughing up blood!"

"Hush, Romani!" Cremia sharply told her.

"Please help him!" Romani begged.

"He's our friend!" Malon cried.

"All right, all right, goodness!" The doctor conceded. If there was anything he didn't like when it came to his patients, it was being surrounded by crying women. They got in the way of his work.

"Just show me where the lad is."

"I'll take you to him," Rusl beckoned and opened the door to the house. While the others waited outside, Rusl led the way into the house, to the bedroom where Link was resting. He knocked on the door.

"Link, the doctor's here."

He opened the door to reveal an empty room. Rusl froze in his tracks.

"Hey! If this is your idea of a trick, it ain't funny!"

Rusl's bolted out of the house, his horrified eyes as large as platters.

"Hey, wait a minute!" The doctor demanded and ran after him. "I'm too old for this!"

Rusl burst out of the front door and grabbed Cremia by her shoulders.

"Where is he?! Where's Link?!"

"What?! Isn't he inside?!"

"Where's Link?!" Malon screamed.

"How could he have gone anywhere?!" Romani cried while pulling at her hair. "We've been standing outside this whole time! It's not like he could've run away! His ribs are broken for crying out loud!"

"Link is in danger!" Rusl announced, releasing Cremia.

"What?!" All three girls gasped.

"How do you know?!"

"I wish I'd never let him out of my sight!" Cremia broke into sobs.

"Start looking! The entire village needs to form search parties! We have to find Link, and we have to find him NOW!"


	8. Ordona 7: Ordona Spring

After the dark flash, Link found himself in a huge plain. It wasn't like the plains of Ordona, though. There were no green waves of grass or golden wheat to be seen for miles. The valley was empty, barren, and filled with bleached-white deadwood trees that stuck up like bones out of the blotted land. The sky above was pitch black, but he saw everything around him as though the sun was shining.

"What do you want from me?!" He pleaded, squirming about in the air. "Let me go!"

The man said nothing. His eyes flitted across Link's body.

"You really are just a spoiled brat, aren't you?"

Link watched helplessly with dread as the man studied his body fastidiously. He was reminded of the way Talon would pinch, prod, and look a horse in the mouth before deciding whether to buy it for the ranch.

"I'm not talking to myself, am I? Are you, or are you not, a spoiled brat?"

A huge wave of pain suddenly penetrated Link's body, and he screamed. It felt like a million tons of pressure weighed down on him, compressing him and grinding his bones into dust and squashing his organs. The pain continued for what seemed like an eternity.

"Well? Let's hear it, boy."

"I AM!" Link shrieked, jerking violently in torment.

"Hmm? You're what?"

"I'M A SPOILED BRAT!"

The pain stopped instantly. Tears poured uncontrollably out of his eyes. More blood from his internal injuries came spilling out of his mouth, and he coughed violently. His body trembled in aching misery. He opened his eyes and realized that instead of levitating, he was now lying on the hard ground. He could see cracks in the dry earth where mud used to be.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" The man mocked him. "I'll make this easy for you, since you're so special and all: I'll ask you some questions, and you get to answer them. If I don't like what I hear, you get to enjoy another bout of my power. Understand?"

"Yes!" Link cried, curling instinctively into fetal position. He felt a sharp pinch in his broken arm, so he coddled it with his other limb.

"Good boy," the man cackled. "You're smarter than you look. Most people don't get it the second time. They usually do something stupid, like cry or beg for mercy. But then again, you're not like most people, are you?"

Desperate to avoid another wave of pain, Link answered immediately.

"I don't know!"

The man frowned.

"Wrong answer."

A second torturous wave penetrated Link, and his body was sent into another crushing spree. He clawed madly at the ground, his fingernails bleeding. It ended almost as soon as it began. Link gasped desperately for air. The bouts of pain were beyond anything he'd ever felt, and it was too unbearable. He couldn't take much more. He just couldn't.

"I don't like the answer, 'I don't know,' and I'll tell you why."

The man spoke matter-of-factly to Link, and began pacing in very slow circles around him.

"When someone tells me 'they don't know,' it usually means they're lying to me. You're not lying to me, are you boy?"

"No," he moaned hoarsely. "I'm not lying…"

"I can't hear you," the man commanded, "Speak clearly to your superiors."

"I'm not lying!"

"Well then, the question still stands."

The man pointed down at him.

"You are not like most people, are you? Think hard before you answer, boy."

Even though his body ached enormously, Link forced himself to think. He remembered the dreams he'd dreamed, the visions he'd foreseen, the nightmares that tortured him, and his sudden increase in strength and dexterity. Everything came back to him in a desperate rush for survival.

"No…" Link finally proclaimed. "I'm not."

"There's a good lad," the man applauded him. "I was wrong, you're much smarter than you look. You'd better drink in this moment. I don't admit to being wrong very often."

Link could barely hear his abductor's speech, since he was trying futilely to stabilize himself mentally and physically. He covered his head with his arms and started rocking back and forth.

"I gotta get outta here!" His instincts screeched. "I'm gonna die!"

The man laughed coldly at Link's suffering, and lifted his hand into the air again. Link's body followed the movement of his hand.

"I wouldn't think of running away if I were you. You're in a realm of my own creation, and no one comes in or out without my permission. Those who do are met with a terrible fate."

Link looked hopelessly up at the black sky. How did this evil man know what he was thinking? It was terrifying to think he could hear his thoughts. He strained to clear his mind when another jolt of devastating force convulsed through his body, then ended abruptly.

"That's another thing," his tormenter continued. "I can't stand talking to someone who won't look me in the eye."

The one thing Link feared most had finally been approached. He had been doing everything to avoid this awful man's gaze since he'd first seen him, but now he would be forced to make full eye contact. To look into this monster's eyes seemed worse than death. Knowing full well the consequences of his decision, Link turned his head away.

"You defy me, eh? I guess you haven't learned your lesson."

Unlike the other waves, this one did not come and go. It persisted agonizingly until Link had no choice but to meet his warden's gaze, or risk permanent damage to his body. The man's eyes were surprisingly casual, if not downright heartless. He was afraid that if he stared too long, the man's heartlessness would seep into him and make him just as cruel and mean.

Until now, Link hadn't taken a good look at the man, but now every detail of his appearance was forcibly engraved into his mind; he was a lot taller than he originally thought, and his skin was so deeply tanned that it was almost black. His short, frizzy hair was a dull red, and his wicked eyes were electric yellow. He wore full-body armor, colored onyx and lined with gold, that covered him from head to toe. He was neither human nor Hylian.

The man must've noticed Link scanning him, because he lifted him so close that his eyes were level with his and only a few centimeters away.

"Take a good look, boy," the man breathed into Link's ear. "I'm the last thing you'll ever see."

The man changed the grip of his hand so that he seemed to be holding something. As he did, Link felt an invisible hand clasp around his throat. He grabbed at his neck to remove the feeling, but to no avail. He could still breathe, but he had no idea when that would change, and the idea of it changing any time soon terrified him.

"Have you learned your lesson?"

"Yes yes!" Link begged, his rigid body hanging magically in the air by his neck.

"One more thing," the man added. "I'd prefer to be called by a more formal title. It annoys me when my subordinates don't refer to me respectively, and I can't stand to be annoyed."

The man tightened his grasp, and Link began choking. He gagged and seized at his throat, but could do nothing to stop the obstruction.

"You'll do as I say?"

"…Yes!" Link managed to gasp through his suffocation.

"Yes, what?"

"Yes, sir!"

"And you won't defy me again?"

"No, sir!"

The man loosened his hold, and Link's airway became clear again. His cough turned into a loud bark as he filled his lungs with precious air. He didn't know what was worse: the bolts of pain, the emotional torture, or the magical strangulation.

"Good. Very good. You're doing well, boy; a lot better than most. Now for my next question."

The man lowered his hand, and Link plummeted to the ground. He landed on his knees, fell to his hands, and then collapsed onto his stomach. He didn't stay there long. He quickly pulled himself up so that he could follow orders, look the man in the face, and be ready to answer when the time came.

"Do you know who I am?"

"No, sir…"

"Really? You aren't lying, are you?"

All the man had to do to send Link into a fit of panic was lift his hand menacingly toward him. Link shrank away and covered his throat.

"I'm not lying! I don't know you, sir! I swear!"

"Hmm…Perhaps I'm not asking the right question."

The man put his fist to his chin and looked at Link with a studious expression. Link could only stare back in blank-minded fear, shivering.

"Do you know my name?"

"No sir."

"But have you seen me before?"

"Yes sir."

"That's more like it. What have you seen me do?"

"You burned down my home, and killed my friends and family, sir."

Hearing this, the man guffawed joyfully.

"That would be perfect! Too perfect for words! If only I could boy, if only I could."

It finally became too much for Link. His head dropped onto his chest, and he was about to lose consciousness when he was sharply lifted into the air again. His head shook upright.

"No no, boy. You don't get to pass out. You've plagued me so greatly in the past that it wouldn't be fair. I've still got questions for you."

"Yes sir," Link murmured weakly, exhausted.

"I'll give you a nice easy one. How does that sound?"

"It sounds good, sir."

"What is your name?"

Rusl's specific instructions overflowed Link's senses.

"No matter what happens, don't ever give your name out to anyone you don't trust!"

Link most certainly did not trust this man. What he felt was the absolute opposite. He hated him, the way anyone hates their prison keeper, and he was scared of him. He wished he'd leave him alone; go away and let him go home. At this point, he wished he would let him live. All the man had done since he'd met him was hurt him; hurt him in every way he thought possible, and he was obeying his orders like he was his son―no. Worse, like he was his dog.

Today had been a rotten day for Link. So far, he'd woken up from yet another night terror, was beaten by a couple of self-entitled thieves, and now he was being viciously tormented by the man of his nightmares come alive, and it was still only early morning.

Link, despite his age, had a vague sense of knowledge that sometimes, life isn't fair. But this was just too much. What had he done to deserve any of this? Maybe he could've been nicer to Malon, or did what Talon told him more often, or even suck up his ridiculous phobia of cuccos and be the one to feed them every now and again, but did not doing those things really entail such a punishment? He was just a boy from a ranch; why was he being treated this way? Why had all these awful things happened to him? It wasn't fair.

Link's anger rose within him; anger he'd never felt before in his whole life. He felt his body waking up, getting inexplicably stronger by the second. Every fiber of being within him raged and lit his spirit on fire, demanding justice. He didn't deserve to be treated like garbage. He was alive, and had the right to live. He wasn't going to let this man, no matter how mean or barbarous he was, take his life away from him so easily; not without a fight. His sense of righteous fury flared up within him so powerfully that he asked himself if he was insane, because he had to be in order to even consider saying what he was going to say next.

"What was that, boy? Speak so I can-"

"No."

The negative response came so firmly out of Link's unwavering lips that the man's response was delayed.

"…What did you say?"

The man spoke in a quiet undertone, the sort one speaks before they go into an uncontrollable fit of rage.

"I said, no."

The man laughed so unexpectedly that it threw Link off, if only for a moment.

"I commend your bravery, boy. You've got guts to stand up to me. But at some point, I will get an answer to my question. Tell me now, what is your name?"

"No."

The man's face twisted into a gruesome grimace.

"Your impudence is getting irritating. Tell me your name now, or suffer my wrath!"

"Never!"

A new wave of pain shook Link, but this one was greater than all the others. His body was so utterly rattled that by the time the pain finally stopped, he was numb all over.

"Tell me your name!"

"No!"

Each time Link answered in defiance, he felt his body being crushed endlessly over and over again.

"Insolent brat! Tell me your name!"

"I'll never tell you in a million years!"

"Say it!"

"No!"

"SAY IT!"

"NO!"

"I SAID, SAY YOUR NAME!"

"NOOO!"

A blinding green flash shot out of Link's eyes and hit the man in the face. He was sent flying nearly twenty feet away while the green light enveloped Link, healing him and saturating him with a new found energy. Link's mind vanished, and was replaced with a hundred others. His body marched over to where the man was now lying gawkily on the ground.

"GANONDORF!" Link's body commanded angrily in a hundred voices that weren't his own.

"WE KNOW YOUR NAME, AND YOU KNOW OURS! YOU WILL NOT TORTURE THE ONE CHOSEN BY THE GODDESSES! YOU WILL NEVER FIND HIM AGAIN, UNTIL THE DESTINED DAY ARRIVES, SO SAYS FARORE!"

The child Link's body shot another green ray out of the palm of his hand. This beam of light hit the man on the ground, engulfed his body, and swallowed him up into oblivion.

"YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME, FARORE! I WILL DESTROY YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"

The man cursed in blind fury as his body dissolved into the green light and disappeared from the realm. No sooner was the evil man banished from the dimension, did the divine entity manipulating Link's body begin to feel Her presence wavering. Before Her temporary burst of energy faded entirely, She shot another green ray at the ground in front of Link. The ray expanded until it formed a large portal, and Link stepped into it. Just as he arrived on the other side of the portal, the dimensional entrance back to Ordon Village melted away, and Link collapsed, unconscious.

In a province neighboring Ordona to the east, there consists of woodland with forests that span distances so great, the Ordona Woods themselves are actually branches of these forests that happened to overflow into their respective province. This massive forest is famously referred to as the Faron Forest, and it is in this forest where a particular tree stands; the oldest tree in all of Hyrule. Its sacred countenance is above and beyond that of even the Great Deku Tree. This particular tree stands erect in the Sacred Meadow on the other side of the bottomless Deep Gorge, and it is thanks to this gorge that the hallowed tree is kept safe and holy from unworthy eyes.

The omnipotence of this tree is considered so providential by the citizens of the Faron Providence that if anyone were to catch a glimpse into the internal goings on in the tree, their eyes would be shocked. Contained in this magnificent tree is, a monumental library, and along with it a living quarters. And if anyone were to see the particular inhabitant living inside the tree, their eyes would not only be shocked, but amazed at the audacity of the little girl living inside.

Everything about her appearance is green; her hair is green and set in two round buns on each side of her head. Her eyes are green too, and so big, round and bright, that she always gives off the impression of being ecstatic, even when she is angry. Her dress is green, too, and comes down at her knees in a poofy ball. Everything about this girl is jestingly green, round, and bright.

This girl, while young and dapper in appearance, gives off the impression of being only six or seven years of age, but she is anything but naïve. On this particular morning, bright and early, she sits in a rocking chair, holding a mug of a hot drink in one hand while reading a humongous volume of a book on her lap. The book covers her so immensely that it makes her look miniscule compared to it. The rocking chair is much too big for her, but she sits comfortably in it anyway, her tiny legs dangling to and fro without touching the ground. She's wearing reading glasses much too big for her face.

As she sits surrounded by her shelves of books, reading and taking occasional sips from her mug, a monkey with a sealed letter in its hand climbs up the tree, sits on the sill of a window outside the library, and knocks politely on the glass. The little girl looks up from her reading, sees the monkey, breathes in sharply, and immediately closes the book and drops it on the ground.

"A message from the Mistress herself!" She says in shock, climbing adorably out of the rocking chair, taking off her glasses and placing her mug next to her book. Taking quick steps towards the window, she opens the pane and allows the monkey to enter. It jumps from the sill and into the library, sitting on the hardwood floor in front of her, and presents the sealed letter.

"Thank you very much!" She takes the letter from the friendly lemur. "Would you like to stay for a while? I'm sure if I look around, I could find some peanuts for you. It's awfully chilly this morning."

The monkey shakes its head and jumps out the window, leaving the girl behind.

"He didn't even stay for peanuts," the girl replies, amazed, while closing the window. "Whatever the Mistress has requested, it can't be good."

The girl walks over to a desk covered with messy papers where she picks up a letter opener and uses it to peel off the seal from the letter. She goes back to where she left her reading glasses, and putting them back on, proceeds to read her letter. Her facial expression jumps back and forth between frightful terror and utter rage.

"Why that no good, dirty rotten, PIG MAN! If I were Din, I'd do away with him myself and be done with the whole mess! He has the nerve to go and do a thing like that to my hero! My hero; the one the Mistress let me choose out myself! HOW DARE HE?!"

She lifts up her foot and kicks the desk with her heavy boot, knocking several of the books onto the ground, and sending papers flying into the air. She's about to kick the desk again when she stops herself and breathes heavily, clenching her fists and as a result wrinkling the letter, and regaining her composure.

"Ooh, I can't stand him! I wish we could do away with his part of the legend and never bother with him again! But then,"

Her breathing slows as she finally calms herself down.

"I suppose if we did things my way, then there would be no order to this chaos."

She sighs, continues to read the letter, and nods her head.

"Yes, this is no good at all. That poor boy can't be allowed to wake up with those memories! It would be a disaster! You have my word Mistress Goddess, I'll get to the bottom of this, or my name isn't Farore, Oracle of Courage!"

The little girl throws the letter onto the desk, hurries downstairs, and begins to prepare a memory-wiping spell.

"I just wish he'd hurry and grow up. He'll be so handsome by the time he finally awakens!"

Two men from Ordon Village, their names Hanch and Jaggle, walked along the path of the wood, each one looking into the forest and sometimes moving branches aside. Hanch is the shorter of the two, sporting greasy hair and a mousy facial appearance. Jaggle on the other hand, is bulkier, with hair on his arms and chest, and his eyebrows set at a permanent angle.

"I swear," Jaggle replied. "Sometimes I think Rusl's a little cucco in the head, makin' us look all over for a little kid we barely know."

"Maybe," Hanch agreed. "But wouldn't you want him to be just as concerned if it were Beth we were lookin' for? I know I would if we were talkin' about my own son, Talo."

"But still. Formin' search parties? Doesn't it seem like a bit much? I mean, it's not even his kid we're talkin' about. It isn't Colin, it's the kid from Lon Lon Ranch. Sometimes I think Rusl knows more than he lets on."

"Hmm."

The two men walked on in silence and continued to search.

"Look over there!"

Jaggle pointed suddenly toward a large bush filled with brambles. If they hadn't been paying attention, they would've missed it. Sure enough though, lying beside the bush was an unconscious Link.

"There he is!"

"I'll go tell Rusl!"

Hanch began running back towards the village. Jaggle ran towards Link and knelt beside him. He carefully lifted him into his arms, careful not to aggravate his injuries, but was shocked when he found him whole and healthy.

"Hey kid! Wake up! You okay?"

In Jaggle's muscular arms, Link stirred and opened his eyes.

"Where am I?"

"You're in the Ordona Woods. Don't you remember nuthin'?"

"You don't remember anything?"

"No, nothing. I remember being beaten up by those thieves this morning, but everything after that is just a big blur, like a dream.

"Say 'ahh.'"

"Ahh."

Link opened his mouth, and the doctor prodded him with a tongue depressor, staring inside at his tonsils. Despite Link's body having no injuries anywhere in or on his body, and though it took convincing on Rusl's part to get the agitated doctor to perform what at first had been an emergency procedure, but ended up being a routine checkup, the doctor finally agreed to stay and examine Link in exchange for free room and board for the night.

"Not even anything from this morning?" asked Romani. "Like when we found you or when you were lying in bed?"

Link waited until the doctor removed the depressor before answering.

"No. Everything after the thieves is blank."

The doctor gently hit the top of Link's knee with a reflex hammer, causing his leg to jerk slightly.

"This is so strange," Cremia breathed, sitting on the bed beside Link.

"What could've happened?"

"What a mystery," said Rusl. He was sitting backward in a chair on the other side of the room, leaning his chin on the headrest.

"Maybe a giant grasshopper came and abducted him, and was gonna eat him before he fought back, so it dropped him where Hanch and Jaggle found him!"

Romani rubbed her makeshift claws together as she hopped around the room pretending to be the so called grasshopper.

"That's not funny!" Link shouted, but Malon and Ilia couldn't help laughing.

"Or maybe!" Malon giggled, "A wolfos came out of the forest and tried to eat him!"

"Stop it!" Link's face turned beet red.

"Girls, don't bother him while the doctor's trying to work," Cremia interjected. "I'm just happy he's safe and sound."

"As am I," Rusl sighed, then laid his head in his hands, and rested his eyelids.

"Take a deep breath," the doctor ordered as he held a stethoscope to Link's chest.

Link inhaled deeply, held it, and then exhaled.

"The boy's fine. There ain't a thing wrong with him."

The doctor finished up with a few routine procedures and stood up.

"We're really sorry about all this, sir."

"We weren't lying, honest!"

Malon grabbed the sheets of the bed.

"This is the blood Link was coughing up earlier, and it's stained all over the front of his sweater, too, see?"

She pointed to the bloody sweater he was still wearing.

"I know you weren't lying," the doctor revealed. "I doubt the blood on the boy's sweater came from anyone but the boy. Rusl's been a friend for years, and he isn't one to lie much less pull pranks, so I'm inclined to believe him. It's just as he said; what we have here is nothing short of a medical phenomenon."

"Maybe the same reason Link's injuries disappeared is why he can't remember anything," Ilia suggested.

"Could be," Rusl nodded. "Unless his memory suddenly returns, we might never know for sure what happened."

"Is it possible that he managed to walk out of the house without us seeing?" asked Cremia.

"Not unless he climbed out the window," said Rusl. "But he was barely able to lie down comfortably without coughing himself hoarse. And even if he had, he wasn't anywhere near the spring when Jaggle and Hanch found him. It doesn't explain how his injuries disappeared without a trace."

"Then what happened?"

"I still think it was a grasshopper," Romani whispered to Malon and they snickered.

"I'm sorry, Link," Ilia groaned. "But I think seeing the blood on your sweater is making me faint."

Cremia rubbed Link's back.

"Why don't we head back to Fado's house and get you cleaned up?"

"Okay," he agreed and jumped off the bed.

"I'll stay here and sort things out with the doctor," Rusl said, standing out of the chair. "You go on ahead."

Cremia escorted Link out of the room while the three girls followed behind.

"That boy's only nine years old and he's already got girls chasin' after him," the doctor muttered as soon as they were out of earshot. "I wish I could find a woman that easily."

Rusl laughed, "I don't know about that. The older one is practically his sister. And don't you have a wife?"

"Yeah, but she's always griping about somethin'. You know how it is with women."

"Yeah…" Rusl sighed dreamily.

The doctor carelessly threw his supplies and instruments into his black satchel. Rusl sat down in the chair once more, leaned back on its legs, and couldn't help recalling courting Uli only a few years ago. It seemed like only yesterday he'd first seen her, the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. It hadn't taken long before she was glowing from her pregnancy with Colin. Now, here he was, starting a family with her.

"Rusl, I know you ain't a fool."

"You've heard about it by now, haven't you? The thieves came and the boy bravely fought to stop them, but then they caught him and nearly beat him to death. Everyone in the village is talking about it."

"You know that's not what I mean."

Rusl opened one eye to peer out at the doctor.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, aloof.

"Stop that!" The doctor yelled. "Ever since I got here, people have been saying things about that kid, and most of it's just how he's prone to accidents, but I can see it in your eyes, and I saw it in that kid. There's something odd about him. I have no idea what, but it'd make a goose walk over my grave. He may be a Hylian, but even a Hylian dumped in the Ordona Spring can't heal injuries nearly as fast as he did. I may be a lousy doctor, but I'm not stupid!"

The doctor put his foot on the chair's leg and forced it down so Rusl was sitting properly.

"If you know something about all this, now's a damn good time to share it."

The doctor folded his arms. Rusl's apathetic expression was replaced by a severe, deadpan look.

"Well? Let's hear it!"

"I have my suspicions, but at the moment, I'm not obliged to share."

"Suspicions of what, might I ask?"

Rusl's brow furrowed as the doctor glared at him. He started laughing nervously.

"Geez, man! You're worse than my mom. Cut me some slack, would ya?"

"This isn't a joke! That boy's a walking hazard! I've barely met him and even I can tell that much!"

The doctor rubbed his temple fiercely.

"Just tell me if he's gonna get hurt again while I'm here, so I can at least be prepared."

"I don't think so. I think we can all finally relax."

"I sure hope so. What a blasted way to start the New Year."

Link stripped out of his torn, mud and blood-caked clothes, washed up, and finished putting on a fresh set. His old clothes had been destroyed beyond reuse, so he threw them away. After doing so, he went outside where the girls were waiting.

"I originally planned on leaving today, since we'd gotten all our work done," Cremia began. "But after the fiasco with the thieves, I have to go back and help the others go over inventory again, and make sure nothing was damaged. I'm afraid we'll be stuck here for another day. I think the four of you deserve a rest after what's happened."

"Fine by me," Malon replied. "More time to play with Ilia before we go home!"

"Just stay near the village, please. Let's hope nothing else goes wrong today."

Cremia ruffled Link's hair before walking away in the direction of the Ranch.

"So, what should we do today, guys?" giggled Malon. "Swim in the river? Tease the goats on the ranch?"

"No way!" Romani cried. "After everything that's happened, you still want to play?"

"I agree," Ilia murmured. "It would be best, for Link's sake, if we did something a little quieter."

All things considered, Link felt fine physically, but he was deep in thought and didn't feel like playing.

"Actually," he said. "I wanna go talk to Rusl."

The girls looked sadly over at him.

"Link," Romani began. "We were really worried about you."

"Yeah!" Malon replied in irritation. "You were crazy to try and stop those thieves! They almost killed you! What were you thinking?"

"Gee, I don't know!" Link fought. "Maybe I didn't want them to steal all the milk from our ranch, or Romani's ranch either, or something stupid like that! Excuse me for caring!"

Before Malon could retort with a hostile comment, Ilia stepped in front of her.

"Link."

She spoke with the same voice she'd used on the doctor's rogue horse.

"We're your friends. We care about you. If there's something you want to talk to Rusl about, don't you think you could trust us enough to talk to us, too?"

Link had crossed his arms defensively and was ready to go at it with Malon, but Ilia's soothing voice and rationality proved too much for him. He felt his anger melt away unwillingly.

"I guess I can tell you, but only if you promise not to think I'm weird."

"It's a little late for that," Malon pointed out. "And you know what? I don't care. I like that you're weird. I'm weird, Link. Everyone is weird."

"Me too!" Romani chirped. "Cremia called me weird once when she found me sleeping on one of the cows."

"You were sleeping on a cow?" Malon raised her eyebrow. "That is weird."

"This isn't normal weird though," Link explained. "It's something awful."

"How bad could it be?"

"Bad enough that you might be mad at me."

"Link," said Ilia, "No matter how bad it is, we promise we'll listen, and we won't get mad. Honest."

She gently put her hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't we go to the spring and talk there?"

"Good idea," Malon replied. "A nice visit to the spring would be the perfect place to talk privately."

"But Cremia told us to stay in the village," He reminded them.

"Cremia said to stay near the village," she nudged him. "There's a huge difference. We're just going to the spring and back. It's not like we'll get lost."

"Well, okay," he gave up.

The four headed out of the village and into the forest. It was still early in the morning, and the sun barely shone above the horizon. The air was much colder than yesterday. There wasn't a single breeze, so the trees stood erect and still. Buds of new leaves had finally started to emerge, peaking off the branches. The wind would pick up later in the day, but for now, the atmosphere surrounding the forest was ominous and painfully foreboding.

"I don't like this," Romani clung to Link. "There's something really scary about the forest today."

"I feel it, too."

"So do I. Maybe we should go back."

"This was your idea, Ilia," Malon explained. "We'll go to the spring and come right back. Maybe it won't feel as weird there."

She was right. When they reached the spring, the four of them were relieved to feel the foreboding sense vanish almost entirely. They made themselves comfortable as they sat next to the bank.

"All right, Link," she demanded. "Spill it."

"Well…"

Link relayed the event of his encounter with the thieves, leaving out the curse words they'd used and other unpleasant details.

"Oh my god," Ilia gasped. "That sounds terrifying."

"They really did try to kill you. But you can't remember anything after, right?"

"Pretty much."

"But I don't get it. You said this would make us mad at you. Why would we get mad at you for getting beaten up?"

"Well…" he hesitated. "When they tied me up, they saw my ears and realized I was Hylian, so they asked me why my ears weren't pierced. I told them it was because I was raised by humans, and then…"

"And then what?"

"One of them called me a freak."

"Why that jerk!" Malon yelled. "If I was there, I'd have given that guy a nosebleed! I'm mad, all right! Nobody calls my brother a freak and gets away with it but me!"

"I'm not your brother…" Link grumbled under his breath. Malon's outrage quickly changed to distress.

"What's that supposed to mean?! What are you saying?! If you're not my brother, then what are you?"

"Right when they were about to kill me, I knew he was right," his voice cracked. "I am a freak. Why else would my parents leave me? They probably hated me…"

"Your parents?" Ilia asked. "Link, is that what you're worried about?"

"Yeah."

"Link," said Malon with growing concern. "Talk to us. We can help."

"No you can't," Link's voice was barely a whisper. "No one can, except for maybe them. You don't know what it's like."

"That's not fair," Romani's quiet voice interrupted him. "We do too know how it feels."

"That's right, Link," Ilia leaned her head on his shoulder. "My mom died before I was old enough to remember."

"So did mine," Malon added. "She died right after you came to the ranch, Link. I can barely remember her."

"Both of my parents are dead," Romani whispered. "I can't remember my mom very much either, but Dad only died last year, and I miss him so much. Cremia is all I have left."

"At least you knew who they were!" Link lashed out. "Even if you don't remember them, you still had someone who could tell you about them. I'm not like that. I don't-"

His voice choked, and he continued.

"I don't even know their names, or what they look like."

His shoulders began shaking.

"I don't know who they were. I don't even know who I am…"

It wasn't cool to cry in front of girls. Even in his anguish, he felt pathetic for doing so, but he just couldn't help it. Everything inside him had built up and exploded in misery.

"Link?"

Malon's voice whispered timidly. He hiccuped before answering, "…What?"

"We might not be, you know, your real family, but we're still family."

Link didn't reply.

"Even though I'm older," Romani wrapped her arms around him. "You're like my big brother."

"Me too," Ilia agreed. "We're the same age, but I know you'd protect me just like a big brother would."

"That's right!" Malon remembered. "You promised us you would protect us just like a hero, remember?"

"…Yeah."

"When did he promise that?!" Romani cried angrily. "How come I don't know about it?"

"We all promised last night, after you went to sleep. We'll tell you about it later, promise."

She frowned, but let it go for the sake of cheering Link up.

"But I think it should go the other way around, too," Malon decided. "From now on, we'll protect you too."

"…Okay."

"Link," Ilia began. "You might not know why your parents gave you up, but you can't assume it was because they hated you. I can't imagine anyone not loving their child."

"But no matter what the reason," Malon continued. "It was their loss, because they didn't get to see how awesome you grew up to be."

"And if they hadn't given you up," Romani finished. "We never would've gotten to meet you."

All three girls group-hugged Link. Their logic didn't make much sense to him, but he was grateful for their efforts, and he did feel better.

"We're your family now, Link," Malon announced. "And nothing's gonna change that!"

"Okay," he finally smiled back.

"And from now on, we'll all protect each other, just like a family!"

"Do you feel better, Link?" Ilia asked.

"I think so."

"Good!" Malon stood up and turned to face the exit of the spring. "Now let's get out of here. I wanna get out of this creepy forest."

"I think I remember something that happened after the thieves."

"What is it?"

"I can hear someone saying something, but it's really weird. It sounds like they're saying, 'No one comes in or out without my permission. Those who do are met with a terrible fate.'"

"Maybe that's why this forest feels so creepy today," Malon whispered sinisterly. "Maybe someone put a curse on it…"

"I don't think so," Link answered. "Ordona Woods has never felt like it's been cursed before. Anyway, it sounds like a man saying it."

"Maybe it was that guy from your dream."

"What guy?"

"The one you told Romani and me about. The dark man with fire in his eyes, remember?"

"I think I would remember dreaming about someone as scary as that."

Malon and Romani looked at Link confusedly, both of them shocked.

"You can't remember him?"

"How can I remember him when I've never even heard of him until now?"

"Maybe it's another part of his memory that he lost," Romani whispered to Malon.

"I think you're right," she whispered back. "Link talked to Rusl about his dreams yesterday. Let's ask him when we get back."

"Good idea."

"Ilia?"

"Yes, Link?"

"Yesterday, you said you were going to show me something, but I don't remember what."

"I'm surprised you remember me saying that. I could've sworn you weren't listening."

She smiled, and Link blushed.

"Why don't we head back now?" Ilia addressed them all. "I have something I want to show you. I've been working on it for a really long time now."

The four of them hesitated to step out of the sanctity of the spring, but finally pushed each other forward into the woods. No sooner had they done so did the foreboding sense return, as though they were being followed.

"I really don't like this."

"Me neither. Let's hurry up."

"Hey," said Romani. "Look over there."

Ilia and Link looked where she pointed. Off the path and not too deep into the forest, a faint red glow reflected off the trees.

"What do you think it is?" Malon asked hazily.

"I don't know," Romani answered as if she were half-asleep. "Let's go and see."

The two girls took off into the forest.

"No!" Link and Ilia called after them. "Come back!"

They followed behind them and caught up when they found what the red glow really was. An ancient pine tree stood high above the canopy of the forest, higher than any of its neighbors. Its massive trunk was ten feet around in circumference. Gathered in wild bunches at the foot of the tree were fresh, crisp daisies. Their black stems stood half a foot long, their square petals were white as snow, and their discs were blood red.

"What are those?" Link bent down to look at them. "They don't smell very good."

"I'm not sure," Ilia traced a finger against one of the petals. "I've never seen them before, but they look familiar."

"They're so pretty!" Malon exclaimed lazily.

Link looked up at the tree, and felt a shiver run up his spine. It was the tree from his dream.

"I'm going to pick some and take them to Big Sis!" Romani clapped her hands.

"Good idea!"

"NO!" Ilia grabbed their hands. "You can't! I remember now! Dad told me those are Twilight Daisies!"

Moving hypnotically toward the flowers, Malon and Romani pulled away from Ilia's grasp and knelt down to pick the flowers.

"They're poisonous! Something really bad will happen if you pick them! Link, help me pull them away! …Link?"

Ilia saw a large blotch on his neck, colored a sickening mauve, eating away at the skin on his throat and exposing the muscle and arteries beneath.

"Link?!"

He mouthed something, but could only stare back at Ilia in wide eyed-horror.

A cracking and splintering suddenly erupted through the forest. While Malon and Romani remained entranced on the flowers, Link and Ilia jolted up to see the tree's trunk snapping at the base. Ilia screamed. Link grabbed Malon's shoulder and tried to pull her away, but she was hard set and as cold as stone as she made robotic movements to rip the flowers out of the ground. Ilia tried to pull Romani away as well, but had the same amount of success.

"Malon! Romani! Wake up! Please!"

The final chunk of wood flew out of the split in the tree's trunk, and it began to tumble. Link mustered all his strength, braced himself, and shoved all three girls out of the way. He could've sworn he saw the flash of a golden wolfos right before the tree crashed to the ground. Following the crashing were the sounds of bones shattering, and flesh being pierced.

Flocks of birds from the surrounding area cawed and twittered as they leapt in the air and flew about in dismay. The tree was so tall that its fallen trunk blocked the forest path nearby.

"Nngh…What happened?" Malon groaned, rubbing her head as the poison wore off.

"It feels like I fell asleep," Romani moaned as she slowly picked herself off the ground.

"LINK!"

Malon and Romani jumped at Ilia's desperate scream, and looked for her. They found her lying next to the pine tree, her long hair caught underneath its massive trunk.

"Ilia! Are you ok?!"

"WHERE'S LINK?!" She shrieked, kicking and trying to free herself.

"What?! What do you mean?!"

"The tree fell and he pushed us out of the way! What happened to him?! Where is he?!"

Romani looked to and fro. It didn't take long to find him. She pulled on Malon's sleeve.

"Over there," her voice cracked.

Underneath the trunk and branches of the pine tree, Malon saw an arm, and a pool of blood.

"AAAAAAAAGH!"

She streaked over and tore hopelessly at the branches.

"LINK! PLEASE! YOU CAN'T DIE!"

"Romani!" Ilia cried as she pulled a small knife out of her pocket. "Go get your sister, and as many of the other villagers as you can! Tell them what happened! HURRY!"

Romani sprinted back toward the village while Ilia began sawing away at her own hair. Malon wept as she frantically ripped away the branches.

"LINK! I'M SORRY I WAS EVER MEAN TO YOU! I PROMISE NEVER TO BE MEAN AGAIN, IF ONLY YOU'RE ALIVE! PLEASE DON'T DIE!"

Ilia chopped away at the last bit of her hair, leaving nothing on her head but a short ragged clump. She stood up, and pulled the flailing Malon away from the tree.

"Don't! You could hurt him even more by doing that! We have to wait for the others!"

"WE CAN'T WAIT! HE COULD DEAD ALREADY!"

She hit Ilia to get away from her, and fell on her knees. She buried her head in the trunk and sobbed as she beat her fists against the sturdy wood.

"Link…you saved us just like a hero…like you said you would…please, Link…don't die…Link…"


	9. Ordona 8: Title Screen

**7 YEARS LATER**

* * *

A black screen faded to reveal a gold-lined menu with gently bending curves. In smooth, gold, scripted letters on the top of the screen were the words ' _ **Select a File**_ '. Harp strings serenely strummed a gentle song in the background.

Three open slots and a golden cursor appeared on the screen. In the same font of soft cursive, the words on all three slots read ' _ **New Game**_ '. The cursor was still for a moment, then moved up and down beside the slots and selected the first one.

The golden menu dropped from the screen and was replaced by one in silver. A full alphabet materialized, also in the same font. On the top of the new menu, the words ' _ **Enter a Name**_ ' appeared. The cursor scrolled meticulously between the letters, and spelled the name.

"… _ **L**_ … _ **I**_ … _ **N**_ … _ **K**_ …"

The cursor floated to where a choice read ' _ **Enter**_ '. It selected the choice, the alphabet dropped down, and the newly updated slot took its place, with the the newly-created name. Lining beneath it were three hearts of pink.

Above the slot, new instructions emerged: ' _ **Ready to Play?**_ '

The cursor seemed to hesitate, resting on the choice stating ' _ **No**_ '. Suddenly, it shifted over to the adjacent choice saying ' _ **Yes**_ ', and selected it. The screen dissolved once more to black, and the music faded until it was silent.

* * *

"…Navi."

"…Navi, where art thou?"

"Mmm…Leave me alone. I'm still sleeping…"

"Come hither…"

"…Oh…all right…"

On a windless night from the top of a great tree, one tiny leaf shivered and gently unfolded. From its folds, an electric blue, petite and delicate sprite stirred and rose from her makeshift bed. She rubbed her eyes as she buzzed down to the base of the tree's elderly face.

"Here I am, Great Deku Tree."

"Oh, Navi the fairy…Listen to my words, the words of the Deku Tree…"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Dost thou sense it? The climate of evil descending upon this realm…"

"…I don't think so-"

"Malevolent forces even now are mustering to attack our land of Hyrule…"

"What? Does that mean that-"

"Navi. Take thyself and go to the city where the Princess of Legend dwells."

"Wh-what?! Right now?"

"Yes, thou must leave immediately. Speak not of this to any soul but whom you trust, and do not rest until thou reach the city. When you arrive, thou shalt come face to face with the Chosen Hero. Guide him here to me. Go!"

"B-but Master! I've…I've never left the forest before…I've never left Saria, or you. I can't go all by myself…I-I'm scared…"

"Fear not, little one, for thou knoweth not the courage within thine own self. I see for thou a great destiny in which thou shalt play a large part. Make haste to the city, meet the hero, and fulfill thine destiny…"

* * *

A new day dawned on Lon Lon Ranch in the Ordona Province. The sun rose up and out of the trees, casting bright tints of blue and orange in the sky. A soft breeze drifted across the dewy grass. In the trees surrounding the meadow, bluebirds rattled their stiff feathers and began their morning song. Chicks chirped hungrily in the nest and opened their gaping mouths.

A man wearing a full steel helmet that covered his face, and a hooded cloak, stood motionless in the field outside of Lon Lon, staring at the ranch.

On the west side of the ranch stood a small country home, built slavishly, with a new addition constructed onto the second floor on the far side overlooking the ranch. The supporting foundation of this new room was nothing more than tall wooden columns, since the room had been built outside the original frame of the house.

In a room on the other side of the house, a young woman with an hour-glass figure stirred and awoke. She sat up in bed and stretched, yawning. She ran her fingers through her flowing, wavy red hair, and rose out of bed. She picked up off the floor a white tee, a yellow bandana, a lavender skirt, and an apron with a leather belt, and dressed.

When she finished, she moved elegantly to the window, drew the curtain wide, and opened the shutters. Sunlight poured in, and the breeze drifted into the room through her hair. She smiled and closed her eyes, letting the sun shine on her face. Where her girlish freckles had once been, rosy color bloomed on her cheeks. A cream-colored finch fluttered down, perched on the window sill, and tweeted a song for her.

"Good morning, little friend."

Malon tenderly pet the bird on its tiny head. Leaving the window open, she took up the bird's song as she walked out of the room, picking up a basket that rested by the door on her way. She stopped by the sink in the living room and washed her face before continuing over to the new structure of the home. She didn't bother to knock before opening the door and peering inside. An empty mattress, a nightstand, a wardrobe, and a desk with a chair decorated the room. The furniture matched the same material as the brand new hardwood floor.

"Oh, Link," Malon sighed happily. "Why'd we bother to build you a room of your own when you won't even sleep in it?"

She closed the bedroom door, crossed the living room once more, and unlatched the door that led downstairs.

On the first floor, cuccos bounced around wildly out of their coops, scratching the ground and cooing at one another. When they saw Malon, they hounded the stairs, crowding against one another at the bottom step.

"All right all right, take it easy you guys!" Malon laughed.

She quickly moved down the steps and carefully nudged the cuccos out of the way with her boot. She lifted the lid of a barrel by the wall, reached down into it, and managed to grasp the handle of a scoop resting at the bottom. She pulled it out, along with a measly amount of chicken feed.

"I keep telling Dad we need more. The barrel's going to be empty really soon."

She threw the feed out at the disorderly birds, and they scattered and pecked away at the seeds while Malon collected the eggs from the coop. She took the eggs to the freezer upstairs, then came back to unlock the front door and open it wide for the cuccos. They clawed and climbed over each other to scamper outside, feathers flying.

"Bunch of crazy birds."

Malon followed the funny fowls out the door, but the man with the helmet and cloak was waiting for her. At the sight of him, Malon gave a little shriek, jumped and dropped her basket.

"Rusl!" She shouted angrily. "Don't do that!"

Rusl lifted the cover of his helmet and grinned cheekily at her.

"I'm only funning with you. Can't help it if you're fun to scare."

Malon groaned and picked up the basket.

"It's a little early for you to be playing tricks, don't you think? How'd you even get on the ranch in the first place? I'm sure we locked the gate last night."

"It's never too early for a good trick, and I have my ways."

"If you broke the lock again, Dad's going to be really mad at you."

"Of course not," Rusl shook his head as he removed the helmet and cloak. "I promised Talon I wouldn't resort to destroying private property, at least not anymore."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you couldn't stay away from this place."

Malon quickly changed the subject before Rusl could counter.

"Should I assume your business in Hyrule City is concluded?"

"You're getting smarter every day, Malon. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't."

"Well then," she lowered her voice. "Come to see Link, have you?"

He laughed, "Can't a man come to visit the people he considers family?"

"Not when he goes about scaring innocent little girls," she smiled sneakily.

"In case you haven't noticed, you aren't all that little anymore. Seems like only yesterday you were that goofy little girl running around this ranch, and now you're practically a woman."

"I'm glad you've noticed, but I'm afraid you're wrong on one point, Rusl."

"Oh really. And what is that?"

"I'm not  _practically_ a woman. I  _am_ a woman."

Malon flipped her hair with a haughty flick of her wrist.

"Well well,  _my_ mistake," Rusl chuckled. "You're  _definitely_ not the same little girl running around on this old ranch."

With his helmet and cloak tucked under his arm, Rusl bowed deeply.

"Would you be so kind then, Milady, to escort me to the young man in question?"

"You've actually arrived in the nick of time, my good man. I was just about to send for him."

Malon beckoned Rusl to follow her as she walked across the grass and dirt over to the stable. She lifted the heavy wooden bolt off the door and pushed it open. A horrible odor of horse manure erupted out of the stable, knocking Rusl back.

"Holy crap!" He wheezed and plugged his nose.

"Tell me about it," Malon rolled her eyes. "I keep telling Dad we need to clean this place, and it's only getting worse. I think that'll be our chore for the day. Wait here."

Malon picked up the drape of her skirt to keep it from touching the ground, and trouped inward. Inside the stable, hay, straw, and droppings all littered the floor in one big, heaping, decomposing pile. Flies buzzed loudly and swarmed rampantly all around in the air. Tears streamed down Malon's cheeks and chin as the smell irritated her eyes. She could feel her anger rising.

"This is ridiculous," she said to herself. "This isn't just disgusting, it's dangerous! The horses could get sick from living like this! That's it! We're cleaning this place today if it kills us! But first…"

Malon passed by several stalls as she went deeper into the stable, each one containing a different horse of a different breed. There was a Gerudo Thoroughbred, a Hylian Quarter Horse, a Labrynna Mustang, a Faron Cob, a Lanayru Appaloosa, and several others of mixed breeds. She finally stopped in front of one of the stalls in the very far back. In this particular stall, a strong rosy brown mare with white mane stood while it slept, breathing softly.

"Epona," Malon whispered. "Time to wake up, Epona."

She opened the stall door, tiptoed in, and reached out to touch the mare's nose. Epona's black eyes blinked open, and she whinnied in approval.

"That's right, it's me. Think you can help us out again, girl?"

Epona sniffed Malon up and down, smelling her hair and shirt.

"Sorry, but if you want a treat, you gotta find Link for us, first."

Epona smacked her broad head against Malon's hip, shoving her abruptly to the side.

"Hey! Stop that! I'll get you a carrot if you want, but we need to find Link. Come on, please?"

Epona snorted, stepped out of the stall, and waited.

"Thank you, Epona."

Epona stamped anxiously and looked back at Malon impatiently.

"Yeah yeah, I know."

Malon walked out of Epona's stall and over to a nearby wall where a rope halter hung on a nail. She retrieved it, tied it loosely around Epona's neck, and led her out of the stable where Rusl was waiting.

"Now what?" Rusl asked. "Are you going to search for Link while riding this mare?"

She opened her eyes in horror at the idea.

"Heavens, no! Epona doesn't let anyone mount her except Link! She bucks everyone else off for some reason, so we all decided that she'd just be Link's horse."

"Well then, what exactly do you plan on doing with her?"

" _I'm_ not going to do anything. Epona here is kind enough to find and deliver Link to us, because she's nice like that."

Malon lead Epona, while Rusl followed, across the ranch to the main gate.

"Would you be kind enough to open the gate, Rusl?"

"Certainly."

With the front gate open, Malon tucked the rope around Epona's neck.

"Ok, Epona. Fetch!"

Epona brayed loudly and looked at Malon with a proudly insulted gaze.

"Eh, please?"

With a twist of her head, Epona trotted off slowly toward the Ordona Woods without looking back at them.

"Good grief," Malon groaned. "I've never once thought, in all my life, that I would have to mind my manners for a  _horse!_  She's so stubborn I wonder how Link can stand her."

"She reminds me of a certain someone."

"Ehh? And just who might you be referring to, Mister 'I-Trespass-On-Other-People's-Property-First-Thing-In-The-Morning'? Don't forget, I'm doing you a favor."

Malon raised a skeptical eyebrow at Rusl, and he laughed nervously.

"In any case," she laughed along with him. "I think it's time that my useless father woke up, and my uncle too. I'll be right back."

* * *

_Link slowly opened his eyes and looked to his left and right, finding himself surrounded by darkness._ _A bright flash of violet suddenly materialized above him, appearing in the form of a wavering sun. He shielded his eyes and squinted up at the light. He could hear it speaking to him in an unnaturally female voice._

" _Rise, Link…The time has come for you to awaken…"_

"… _What?"_

" _You are fated to have a hand in a great destiny, and it will soon find you…"_

" …"

" _The time has come for you to awaken…"_

" _I don't understand…"_

" _Link…"_

* * *

Link opened his eyes to find an enormous muzzle centimeters away from his face.

" _Ahh!"_

Epona sniffed his head, hair, and shirt vigorously, and whinnied with a high-pitched whine in his ear.

" _All right, all right! I'm awake!"_

He pushed Epona's nose away. Lying on his back, he looked up to see sunlight filtering down through the leaves of trees surrounding him.

" _Aw man, Malon's gonna get mad again."_

If Epona was out here to wake him, that meant Malon was awake too. She always got mad when he slept out in the forest, and he didn't mean to, but sometimes it just happened. There were nights when no matter how he tried, his insomnia was so overwhelming he couldn't sleep in his own bed, so he would go for a nightly stroll in the woods until he finally collapsed from exhaustion. There were others where he could swear he'd fallen asleep in his own bed but would wake up in the forest anyway. In this case, it was the latter.

Epona neighed irritatingly at him again. Link sat up and rubbed his sore neck. He felt like he'd slept with his head on a rock. When Epona went to smack her head against his back to get him to speed up, he whirled around and wrapped his arms around her head, hugging her.

" _Don't even try it."_

Grinning, he looked deep into her big black eyes with his own sharp, pale blue eyes. Epona lied down next to him, and Link rubbed and patted her neck, and ran his fingers through her mane, then moved his hands to scratch her back. He pulled himself up and mounted Epona bareback, and she stood up and headed back for the ranch.

" _Just another long, boring day to spend on the ranch. I guess if nothing else, I don't have to worry about giving anyone any excuses."_

The Oracle of Courage was right about Link's future appearance; he had grown more than handsome. He had wide, piercing blue eyes set at a solemn angle, and his facial expressions were all the more expressive because of it. Most had only to look into his eyes to know almost exactly what Link was thinking or how he felt.

The golden blonde hair he sported as a boy had darkened to honey, with streaks of light ash brown. It grew out in a tousled rouse, so he had to cut it frequently to avoid rats' nests. His haircut framed his heart-shaped face perfectly. His elven ears had grown much longer, and pointed away from the line of his face, peaking out of his hair. His lips were thin, and his nose was long and slender.

Link had a modest body build. He was half an inch short of six feet, tall for his age, and had developed unavoidably broad shoulders. Life and work on the ranch had worked and hardened his muscles, and they showed through his clothes.

Despite being rough around the edges, Link is stronger in spirit and mind than most people would expect from any common boy on any common ranch. He judges himself and the people around him well and kindly. All of the livestock on the ranch like him innately, and wild animals he encounters in the forest approach him without the apprehension most would expect from untamed creatures. Children young and old harbor no shyness around him, and run into his arms to give him hugs, throwing any notion of stranger danger out the window, even if they've never met him in all their lives.

Most people can tell from a first glance that Link is most certainly not 'normal'. There is something about him, perhaps in the gaze of his blue eyes that makes folks of all races shudder from the aura emanating from this boy. Link himself is completely unaware of the sensation he gives off, partly because his mind is usually wrapped about in the day to day activities and chores that take up his time, but mostly because anyone who ever experiences this feeling from him dares not to breath a word to him  _or_ his family.

It is difficult to say whether the tenants of Lon Lon Ranch ever noticed this feeling emanating from Link, because if they did, they chose to ignore it, mostly out of sorrow. The adult proprietors only saw it as evidence that soon he would go away, more than likely never to return. Malon on the other hand, never noticed this feeling, and never bothered to look for it, more than likely because she'd grown too close to Link. She'd overlooked the forest for the trees, or in this case, overlooked the hero for her brother.

When Link rode out of the forest on Epona, Malon was waiting for him by the main gate.

"Link!" She sighed in exasperation. "What are we going to do with you?"

He shrugged and smiled sheepishly.

"We go to all the trouble of building you your own room, with a wardrobe and a desk and everything, and you won't even sleep in it! We could've used that money and wood for something else if we had known you were just going to sleep in the dirt!"

Link laughed voicelessly and climbed off of Epona's back. Rusl slapped him on the back, surprising him.

"Can't help a man and his desires, Malon. The boy must love camping."

He  _did_ like sleeping outside, in the cool night air and under the stars, but it wasn't exactly why he went in the forest at night. He didn't know why he slept better out there, or why he sleepwalked, but for some reason, Link felt closer to the forest than he did to the ranch. There were times he would pause in his work without thinking about it, and stare out at the inviting trees. He had a longing for the place where he'd always felt at home.

"Are you listening, Link?"

Link snapped back to attention and turned from the forest to Malon.

"See? Even when I'm talking directly to you, your head is in the clouds. I was just saying that it's about time we cleaned out that disgusting stable, for everyone's sake. Dad and Uncle Ingo are going to help, too, whether they want to or not."

" _Do we have to?"_

"Don't give me that look! It has to be done, and it needs to be sooner rather than later. You can't honestly stand there and tell me you want Epona to sleep in that garbage dump, do you?"

Malon struck home. Link leaned against Epona's stomach and gave up.

"While we're at it, we should give the horses a bath today too."

"In the meantime, I can go wait somewhere."

Rusl made to walk away, but Malon grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Oh no, you're not! You're here too, so you're gonna work too!"

Rusl and Link both looked at Malon in shock.

"Ehh?!" Rusl raised his voice in mild alarm. "You're gonna make a poor old man like me work hard to clean up after  _your_ horses?"

"Then you shouldn't have come here so early in the morning. You're like family to us, Rusl, and that means you get to work like you're one of the family."

"Suddenly," Rusl joked. "The life of a hermit sounds very tempting."

"Come on, you two," Malon pulled them along. "Dad and Uncle Ingo have started without us. Bring Epona, too, Link."

Link managed to grab Epona's leading rope before Malon dragged them too far away. The four of them came before the stable where Talon and Ingo were leading horses one by one out of the stable and into the pasture, out of the way while they worked. Buckets, brooms, hoes and shovels were all waiting for them, perched on the open stable doors.

When Talon and Ingo saw Malon dragging both Link and Rusl towards them, they turned away and continued working. Malon and Rusl paid no heed, but Link was confused.

" _What's with them?"_

He glanced over at Malon, but she didn't notice.

"Turn Epona out into the pasture, Link, so she can go eat."

Link removed Epona's leading rope, and she trotted away from them toward the other horses in the pasture, and began grazing. Once the horses had been released, Malon went into the barn and milked all the cows and released them into the pasture as well, then came back to join the four men who'd begun the sticky and appalling task of cleaning the stable. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and pant legs as they went.

It became apparent that cleaning the stable would be a daunting task. The fecal matter of the horses had increased over time to the degree where simply moving it from the interior of the stable to a pile just outside and out of the doorway, would take hours. As they shoveled, Malon and Rusl chatted.

"I'm sure glad Mayor Bo never asked  _me_ to volunteer for the ranch. Blegh."

Malon laughed.

"It's not easy work, and as you can tell, it  _definitely_ isn't clean, but its gotta be done, and to be honest I kind of like it. It's what I've always done, and I can't think of anything I'd rather do."

Malon thought for a moment, and continued.

"Speaking of Ordon Ranch, Fado went back there, didn't he?"

"He did, and he runs the ranch now," Rusl reported. "It was a big relief when he came back, too. Meant the rest of us didn't have to run the ranch anymore."

"That was a long time ago, wasn't it? Six years, wasn't it?"

"Seven now. Right after Cremia came up with Chateau Romani, that drink everyone likes."

"Oh yeah!" Malon realized. "I remember that. That was almost the same time Link lost his voice, wasn't it?"

"Certainly was," said Rusl, casting a cautious glance over at Link.

He wasn't paying any attention. He was staring hard at the ground, a bleak expression on his face, shoveling manure halfheartedly into a bucket. He seemed to be daydreaming again.

Link had heard the conversation somewhat distantly. Malon's statement about the ranch, and how she couldn't imagine doing anything else, was what he'd focused on the most. He didn't feel the same way, but he wouldn't let himself recognize that part of himself. The idea of staying on the ranch for the rest of his life frightened and saddened him at the same time. It dragged him down into a hopeless pit, where he had no chance of ever pulling himself out. He felt this way a lot recently, and it chained him down. He didn't recognize it as a trapping feeling, but he recognized it as a bad feeling nonetheless, and every time he wondered about his future and what he wanted to do with his life, the feeling crept up on him and pulled him back. Whatever this feeling was, it came from the ranch.

"Is he okay?" Rusl asked Malon. She looked over at Link, and saw what he meant.

"I don't know. I don't know if he's listening to us and doesn't like what we're saying, or if he's thinking about something and doesn't like what he's thinking, or if he's just mad at having to work in this smelly barn."

Malon shoveled faster and stared intensely at the ground. They continued working in silence.

"I don't understand him," Malon thought to herself. "Sometimes, I just don't understand him. He's my brother, and I've always understood him better than anyone else. But now, it feels like he's getting farther away. I don't know why."

A sudden snore penetrated the silence, and everyone looked for its source. Talon was propping his head up on the shovel in his hand while he slept.

"Dad!" Malon shouted. "Wake up!"

Ingo groaned when Talon snored onward.

"He reeks of booze," Rusl thought to himself.

Malon waded through the muck and grime over to her father, and pushed the shovel's handle out from under him. His head snapped upright at the loss of his support.

"What the-?! Can't a man get any sleep around here?!"

"No, Dad. We need to get this done today."

"Aww, cut me some slack, darlin'. I've got the worst headache right now."

"Trust me, Talon," Ingo grumbled. "There's a big difference between a headache and a hangover."

"Can ya blame a guy for celebratin' the New Year?"

"We can when the New Year is still a week away. Come on, Dad. Please try and stay awake."

The five continued the work through the morning and most of the day. They started first by pushing the manure and grime from the very back to the front and out of the stable in a large pile by the door and out of the way. The flies followed the dung out of the stable, so no one had to worry about setting out fly paper. It had been Ingo's idea to sell the manure as fertilizer, so they moved the new pile into the compost heap on the far side of the ranch, and covered it with a tarp to keep it cool and protected.

When afternoon hit, they stopped to wash their hands―very thoroughly I might add―and eat lunch, then kept going. With the stable ground now visible, they lined the stalls with fresh straw while Malon filled several buckets with steaming hot water and diluted ammonia for them to scour away the dirt and muck on the walls and floors.

When they finally finished, the stable was spotless, in every sense of the word. The horses' troughs were filled with fresh food and water, and their job was nearly complete before evening began to fall. Talon and Rusl both tried to wander off, but not before Malon caught them.

"Not yet, guys. We're almost done, but we've still gotta get those horses their baths. It's the least we can do after making them sleep in all that poop."

"Aw come on! We stink worse than the blasted stable did!"

"And I need to get back home to my wife, for goodness sake!"

"This is the easiest part of the job. Once we finish, we can  _all_  take baths and be done with it. Promise!"

Link didn't wait for orders. He went silently into the pasture and brought back Epona, and a Gerudo Thoroughbred. He left the Thoroughbred by the stable and immediately went to work prepping Epona for her bath. He took one of the clean buckets and went into the house to fill it with water.

"… _I don't know…"_

When the bucket was filled he brought it back. He went into the barn and grabbed as many of the brushes he could get, and set them down next to the open stable door, so the others could use them too. He took a hard-bristled brush and set to carefully pulling the tangles out of Epona's mane and tail.

"… _Where would I even go? I don't have any place but here."_

When he finished with the unsnarling, Link switched the brush in his hand for a rubber one, and brushed down the rest of her. He worked slowly, so slowly that he eventually stopped, and stood with the brush in his hand resting on Epona's back while staring blankly at nothing.

"… _I couldn't leave this place even if I wanted to. I can't do that to Talon, but it's just so boring…"_

Link stood quietly for a long time, until he felt something hit him. He looked up and saw that Epona had swung her head at his shoulder and was looking at him. He went back to work, and finished brushing her down. He went into the barn a second time and came back out with a hoofpick. He tapped her knee with the pick, Epona lifted her foot, and Link scraped the dirt and muck from her shoe. Cleaning Epona's hooves got him to thinking.

" _Ilia said she wanted a horse ranch of her own by the sea. Maybe I could ask her to marry me, and I could give it to her. That wouldn't be so bad…"_

The feeling of being dragged down was choking him now. His thinking had brought it roaring back, and he'd done it on purpose. The idea of marrying Ilia was good, but it was for the wrong reason. Link still liked her, but he wasn't thinking about marrying her because of any attraction. A sad little smile crept across his face. When he finished cleaning Epona's hooves, the hoofpick fell out of his hand on the ground, and he leaned against her big stomach.

" _I can't stand it. I don't hate it here. I don't hate it at all, but…I can't stand it…"_

"Link?"

He turned around and found Malon's deeply worried eyes looking at him.

"Are you okay?"

She put a hand on Link's tense shoulder. He wore a fake smile on his face, but she saw right through it.

"Link, even if you could talk, I know you probably wouldn't tell me what's wrong, but can't you at least try?"

The smile melted away and was replaced by the saddest expression Malon had ever seen Link wear.

"I can finish up Epona if you want time to think. It's okay."

Link looked back up at her in near shock.

"Seriously, just go. You're going to make me depressed just watching you. We can finish up here. You should go."

She wrapped her arms around Link. Her head barely came up to his broad shoulders.

"When did Link get so tall?" She thought to herself.

She released him and gently pushed him away from Epona. He stood where she'd moved him for a moment, then slowly walked away.

"Rusl," she said as soon as Link was gone.

"Yes?"

"Is he okay?"

"I know as much as you do."

"No you don't. I know you better than that. I used to think I could understand Link, but maybe it's because we've grown up and I'm a woman and he's a man. He's my brother and always will be, but he's been so depressed lately and I can't understand why. I've tried asking Dad and Uncle Ingo, but they won't say anything."

She looked pleadingly at Rusl. He put his hand to his chin and thought for a long time before finally answering.

"If I had to guess, I'd say he's pining."

"Pining?" Malon asked disbelievingly. "Like for a girl?! I never thought he'd do anything like that. It better not be me."

Rusl laughed.

"Who knows, maybe he is pining for a girl, but that's not quite what I had in mind. I think he feels trapped."

"Trapped?"

"Malon, have you ever been bored here?"

"All the time, but we find things to do. We keep ourselves entertained."

"That's not what I meant. Have you ever thought that maybe there's more to life than milking cows or cleaning horses?"

"…I guess not. I told you I couldn't see myself doing anything else."

"I think that's how Link feels. I'm sure he doesn't hate the ranch by all means, but I think he's bored beyond his limits, if you'll believe it."

"…I believe it."

"He's gotten to the point where he's questioning everything and everyone around him, including himself. He's thinking about his life, and where he's headed in the future. Living on a ranch might seem like a good thing to you, but maybe it's not that way for him. I hope you'll forgive me for saying so, but maybe he doesn't want to be here anymore."

"I guess I can see where cleaning horse poop would get old after a while."

"Or, he could've fallen madly in love with his foster sister. Who knows?"

"Rusl," Malon growled, and Rusl chuckled.

"I kid, I kid."

"You know," she started seriously, and the amusement of Rusl's comment was forgotten. "That reminds me of something. Do you remember the camp out we had that New Year, when Link lost his voice?"

"How could I forget? We were practically panicking the whole day through afterward. Poor Link went through so much that day."

"Anyways, the night before, right as we were going to sleep, Link told me something that made me laugh at the time, but now I wish I hadn't."

"What did he say?"

"He said he wanted to be a hero. He said he wanted to travel the world, help people, and do great things. Ilia and I told him he could try joining the Royal Army, and he seemed to like the idea. I don't know if he still wants to do that, but maybe if I bring it up, it'll cheer him up."

"I see."

"Thank you, Rusl. I feel better knowing."

Before Rusl could say 'you're welcome,' he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"We need to talk."

Ingo and Talon stood behind him with stern expressions on their faces. Rusl sighed.

"All right."

The three walked into the stable, and Ingo closed the doors behind them, leaving Malon with the horses. When she heard muffled angry voices coming from the stable, she stopped working, tiptoed over and pressed her ear against the door. She could hear Ingo's voice demanding something.

"What's Uncle Ingo so worked up about?"

She heard her father's equally angry tone, along with Rusl's puzzled voice.

"Are they mad because Rusl technically broke into our ranch this morning?"

She blocked out all other noises and focused her attention on the conversation.

"…here to see you and your family before I went back to Ordon. Is there a problem with that?"

"There's a problem when you use others for your own damn plans!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're trying to take Link away!"

"What?!"

"You came here to try an' get him to leave."

"Why would I do that?"

"Don' play dumb! We know you know why!"

"Talon, with all due respect, you're drunk."

"Rusl, that boy's my burden to bear, an' he's still just that! He's a boy! He'll stay here 'til  _I_ think he's ready to go. He'll go when 'e's a man."

By now, Malon was distressed. They weren't mad about this morning, but they were definitely arguing, and it had something to do with Link. She couldn't tell what though, and their voices had gone quiet; too quiet for her to hear anything else. Was Rusl  _using_ them? He  _did_ pay an awful lot of attention to them, especially Link. She always thought Rusl was their friend for friendship's sake, but was there something more? What did Link have to do with it?

Wait a minute. Her father just finished saying something about Link leaving the ranch, but why? He didn't hate him, did he? It hardly seemed like it. Talon had told his daughter multiple times that he'd always thought of Link as his son, so why was he kicking him off the ranch? She thought about Rusl's words, about how Link felt stuck on the ranch. Did Link already know he was going away? Maybe her dad wasn't kicking him off the ranch, but instead, Link asked him if he could leave and they'd arranged it without telling her.

"How could they lie to me?!" Malon screamed inwardly. She was about to slam her fist on the stable door when she stopped herself.

"Calm down. Think for a second."

The rest of her father's words came back again.

" _He'll stay here 'til I think he's ready to go. He'll go when 'e's a man."_

She'd almost given herself away for nothing. Talon just finished telling Rusl that Link wasn't leaving the ranch, or at least not yet. That meant that Talon―and from the sound of it, Ingo too―wanted Link to stay just as much as she did. Was it Rusl's idea for Link to leave the ranch then? That's what made no sense. The only thing she could think of was that Rusl wanted an apprentice, but if Link wasn't happy cleaning after barnyard animals, what could possibly make Rusl believe he'd be happy sweeping ashes and soot from a dirty old furnace?

If Malon hadn't been paying attention at that moment, she would've missed hearing the door open from the inside. She bolted away from the door, grabbed a bucket of water next to Epona and suddenly dumped it on her, which Epona was not happy about. Malon managed to grab a sponge and start scrubbing away right when Rusl came out the door.

"Anything interesting happen?" She asked as nonchalantly as she manage.

"Not much. I'm afraid I need to leave."

"Link will be sad to know you left."

"I'll say goodbye before I go. Know where he went?"

"Probably into the woods again. He goes there a lot."

"I'll come back to visit, of course."

"Bye."

Rusl heard the strain in Malon's voice.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she said with irritation and turned away.

Rusl walked away slowly, but came back a few minutes later.

"Any chance I can take a bath before I go?"

"You can use the bathtub in our house."

Rusl had his bath and departed again, exiting through the main gate and heading to the nearby forest. It took longer for him to find Link than he would've preferred, but when he finally heard the sound of an ocarina's notes drifting on the wind, he followed it to the source, and came into the empty meadow with a big tree in the center. Link was sitting on one of the branches near the top, playing the ocarina with his eyes closed.

"Hey Link!"

The notes stopped immediately. Link looked down and saw Rusl waving at him. He climbed down nimbly and quickly, jumped from a branch not very close to the ground but not too high up either, and landed squarely in front of Rusl. His knees bent as he landed, and then he prostrated himself. Rusl noticed that Link was soaking wet.

"Is there a river out here, somewhere?"

Link started to point, but Rusl stopped him.

"Never mind, it's not important. I came to say goodbye before I left."

Link smiled and extended his hand. Rusl took the hand in his own, and shook firmly.

"Before I go though, I wanted to give you something. I hope you like it."

Rusl removed a long package from his back and held it out. Link, looking at the package in curiosity, took it and carefully removed the cloth wrapping. His eyes brightened when the sun struck the sharp blade of a sword. He pulled the sword out of the wrapping, held the grip tightly in his hand and ran a finger slowly from the guard, down the fuller, and all the way to the point. The sword felt right at home in his hand.

"I made it myself. It's a pretty standard mold for an Ordona Sword, but this one is made with carbon steel. It will never rust or break, so it'll last a long time."

Link held the sword up to the sun and let the light reflect onto his face.

"I can show you how to use it if you'd like, but not until we meet again. I'll come back to visit some time. I'll be seeing you."

Rusl left the meadow the way he came, waving as he went, and disappeared into the forest. Link pulled the matching scabbard out of the wrapping, and strapped its leather band around his shoulder and back, dropping the paper it came in on the ground. And then, he couldn't help himself. He slashed the sword back and forth in the air, did a spin attack, and twirled the sword lazily in his hand before tucking it easily into the scabbard on his back.

" _Thank you, Rusl. I'll never forget this."_

It was exactly what he needed to lift his spirits. He always played the ocarina to cheer himself up, and that's what he'd been doing when Rusl had found him, but this gift was something new and something amazing. Its sharp blade beckoned Link, tantalized him with its potential and prestige. He wished he could have lessons, and learn to use it like a real soldier. It wasn't the first sword he'd ever held in his hand, but it was the first time he had a sword of his own, and he felt all the more special for it.

Link's hand was still grasped around the grip of the sword on his back, when a sudden surge of energy welled up within him. He brought his arm back, noticed a glint of light, and looked straight at his hand, his mouth open in wonder. On the surface of his left hand were three golden triangles.

" _What_ is  _that?"_

He stared in awe at the triangles as they glowed, and as he did, every jumbling, confusing feeling he'd had that day began to dissipate. They looked familiar, but he couldn't imagine where he'd witnessed them before.

"… _They're beautiful…"_

The triangles faded away from the surface of his hand. He ran his fingers over the spot where they'd been, but the only trace left of them was the residual afterimage they left in his eyes. He wished they hadn't gone away. Without thinking about it, Link picked up the cloth wrapping from his present, tore off a piece, and bandaged it tightly around his left hand, then held the wrapped hand in his other. Whatever those triangles had been, they were very precious.

" _I don't know why, but I feel like I have to protect them. I have to, no matter what."_

Link debated whether to head back to the ranch or stay in the forest a while longer, and knew immediately which he preferred. With one swoop, he jumped, reached for a thick branch, and swung himself up into the tree, climbing higher and higher. He arrived at the top, and while hanging onto the summit of the tree trunk, he gazed wholly at the canopy of the woods, taking in the scene, deeply inhaling the warm forest air.

He reached back, touched the grip of his sword tucked safely away in the scabbard, and smiled to himself. He sat on a bough of the tree, pulled out his ocarina, and played. The sun was setting when Link resumed his song, and he didn't stop playing until well after night fell. He blew out every song he knew, made up several as he went, and only stopped between songs long enough to draw breath. Link's voice was long gone and it had taken him years to adjust to his handicap, but with his ocarina, at least he could still sing.

When Link finally stopped playing, he looked into the zenith of the velvet sky above him, saw the stars, and realized the time.

" _Should I even bother going back? Maybe I ought to just sleep out here again tonight."_

He considered it, but decided against it. They were probably worried about him, and he needed to show his face at some point. Link began descending the tree, but something caught his eye. Slomething glinted on the ground at the foot of the tree. He quickened his pace and dropped down next to it.

"… _Is that a…piece of a_ heart _?"_

A tiny, glittering pink heart, encased in thin delicate glass, was levitating as it slowly rotated next to the base of the tree. Link went to pick it up, and it floated in his hand.

" _It's so pretty! I bet Malon would like it."_

The idea of a gift was wasted, for at that moment, the piece of heart effervesced and began seeping into his skin. The reaction alarmed Link, and he jumped back and dropped it. The heart returned to its original form as it fell to the ground, undisturbed.

" _What the heck?!"_

Concerned but mostly curious, Link thought hard about what to do with the inquisitive object. He found the cloth wrapping he abandoned earlier and using it as a covering layer over his hands, attempted picking up the heart a once more, but when the same thing happened, he quickly dropped it again and changed his method.

Instead of using the cloth as a layer over his hands, he laid the cloth flat on the ground next to the heart, and nudged the heart with his boot carefully onto the cloth before his foot could absorb it. Once the heart was placed squarely, he took both ends of the cloth in each hand and lifted it up, cradling it.

With his package ready for transport, Link made his way slowly back to the ranch. When he returned, the main gate was closed but not locked. He laid the heart down carefully while he opened the gate, and repeated the process when he closed the gate behind him. He had to do the same thing when he reached the door to the house. He ignored the clutter and gossip of the cuccos as he walked upstairs and inside.

"Hurry up, Link!" Malon's voice called from the dining area. They must have heard him coming in. "Dinner's already served!"

When he came inside, everyone else was seated at the table and eating the same dinner they ate nearly every night. Malon looked up from her plate and saw the heart.

"Whoa!" She exclaimed. "What  _is_  that?"

She got up from her seat and approached the heart in its makeshift cradle.

"Link, this is beautiful! Where did you find it?"

She extended her fingers toward the heart, but Link it pulled away from her.

"What's wrong? Can't I touch it?"

He shook his head briskly.

"Well, why not?"

Link walked toward the dinner table and placed the heart on an open space. Talon and Ingo stopped eating when he presented the heart. Link traced his fingers across the surface of the heart. It bubbled and oozed into a viscous liquid, infusing into him, but he drew his fingers back before the heart could absorb into him completely.

"Whoa," said Malon. "That is wicked."

"It's just a piece 'a heart," Talon replied. "Found it in the forest, didn' cha?"

Link nodded.

"They're good luck to find, boy. They make ya stronger."

"How?" asked Malon.

"Touch it, and let it sink into your skin."

Link raised an eyebrow and held up his hands in protest.

"He's right, Link," Ingo explained gruffly. "Don't worry, it won't hurt you."

Link hesitated, and apprehensively picked up the heart in his bare hands. He fidgeted uncomfortably as the heart bled slowly into his skin, but to his surprise it didn't hurt him in the least. Instead, a pleasant tingling spread through his hands and arms. The heart's glitter grew to a glow as it dissipated and disappeared into Link's body.

"Well, Link? How do you feel?"

Link closed his hands together on the last few drops left. When he opened them, the heart was gone. He shrugged.

" _I don't feel any different."_

Malon frowned and asked, "Have you even eaten anything all day?"

He grimaced and clutched at his stomach.

"I didn't think so," she laughed. "Come on. Eat with us."

"Better put that sword down first, boy," said Ingo.

"Sword?" asked Malon.

Link undid the strap on his back and leaned the sword against the wall near the table.

"Where did you get that?"

"'Twas a girft, girl," Talon replied with a mouthful of food, and Ingo finished, "It was from Rusl before he left."

" _How did_ they  _know that?"_

"Oh…" Malon looked sadly down at the floor.

" _What's wrong?"_

Link gingerly placed his hand on Malon's shoulder.

"It's okay, Link. It's nothing."

She resumed her seat at the table. Link took his place where a plate of food was waiting for him. The sight and smell drove a pit into his stomach, as he physically realized he hadn't had a bite to eat all day, so he dove in.

"Dad, tell Link what you told me. He'll want to hear it, too."

"Ah yes, that's right. Ma boy, it's time you and Malon had a bigger hand in helpin' this ranch out."

" _Oh great_ _. Even more_ _chores."_

"You see, you're gettin' to be a grown man, and it ain't good for a grown man to have seen so little of the world, even if he lives on a humble 'ole ranch like ours."

His eating slowed to a stop as Talon talked.

"So that's why, when I go ta Hyrule City durin' the New Year celebrations next week, you and Malon are gonna come with me."

Link's eyes popped opened wide at the news.

" _What?!"_

"That's right, Link! We get to see the city, with our own eyes! Isn't it great?"

" _Are you kidding?! That's awesome!"_

Link grinned uncontrollably. Finally, to get out of this stingy ranch, and visit the biggest city in the whole country! It wasn't just great news, it was the best news he'd had in months!

"So a few days from now, we'll start gettin' our gear together an' ready ta go. Ingo'll stay here an' watch the place while we're gone."

"Don't forget, you two," Ingo sternly directed. "You're going there to work, not play."

"Yes sir," Malon answered, and Link nodded. The rest of dinner went by with idle unimportant chat.

When they finished, they said their good nights and separated to their rooms. Link retrieved his sword before going into his room. He placed it on his desk with care before lying down on his bed. He stared up in wonder at the ceiling, and couldn't help feeling today had been a good day. It had sucked at first, since he had to deal with literal crap, but he got a brand new sword, and he would be seeing the greatest city in the world in just a week , so it balanced out in favor of the positive.

He thanked himself for having the foresight to save the pocket money he'd earned over the months. No doubt he'd go on a spending spree the day they arrived. He wouldn't buy things like clothes or jewelry, like Malon probably would, but who knew what treasures and amazing things would be waiting for him. He had considered buying a sword when he'd saved enough, but thanks to Rusl's kindness it was no longer necessary, and he was free to spend his rupees on other things. He couldn't wait for the trip, and he didn't want to. It would be torture waiting for a whole week to go by.

A soft knock came at his door, and Malon peaked inside.

"Link," she said. "Mind if I come in?"

He sat up and waved her in. She closed the door behind her and sat down on his bed next to him.

"I'm never gonna get to sleep!" She whined. "I'm so excited, I don't think I'm going to sleep for the whole week long!"

She squealed and stomped her feet on the ground.

"Spending the New Year in Hyrule City," Malon sighed dreamily. "We'll get to stay up  _all_ night, watch the carnival and the fireworks, follow the parade, not to mention shop at all the shops and street vendors, see the castle and the villas and the temples and people from all around the world!"

She was about to continue when Link shoved her arm. He was laughing.

"I know I know," she answered. "I can't help it though! I don't want to wait a week! I wanna go  _now_! This is what we've been dreaming about since we were kids! Don't tell me you're not excited, too?"

Link leaned back against the wall by his bed, resting his head in his hands. He returned to staring at the ceiling again, but the look on his face was all the communication Malon needed.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she giggled. "We'll have to distract ourselves to keep from going crazy this week, or else we won't  _live_ to see Hyrule City."

She looked over at the desk beside the bed, and saw the sword.

"Link, do you hate it here?"

He was still staring at the ceiling with a goofy expression.

"Link? Did you hear me? Link?"

He switched his gaze to Malon and leaned toward her, still smiling.

"Oh, never mind. I didn't say anything."

The giddiness in her voice was gone. She sat deep in thought, her hands clasped together.

" _Did I miss something?"_

Link scooted closer to her and matched her gaze.

"I'm fine, Link. Just thinking about something."

The concerned expression on his face didn't go away.

"I'm thinking about how we're going to Hyrule City, that's all. Come on, Link!"

She avenged herself by returning the shove he'd given her. They both laughed, and Link threw a pillow at her.

"You're not getting this back."

" _Aww come on!"_

She gave the pillow back anyway when she stood up and made her way to his bedroom door.

"Try not to think about Hyrule too much," she said.

" _I wouldn't be if you didn't keep mentioning it."_

"Hey, I bet if we play our cards right, we might even get to see Princess Zelda!"

_"Yeah right!"_

He shrugged.

"Good night, Link."

He laid back down as Malon exited the room and closed the door quietly behind her. From under the crack of his door, he saw the lights in the adjacent rooms go out, so he blew out the candle sitting on his desk and lied in silence, too eager to sleep. In just one week, he would behold Hyrule City with his own eyes. He could see it now; the city lights at night, the numerous bustling people as they walked, the street music and performers, the buildings taller than trees and more impressive than anything else in the world. But that was the city on any other day. They'd be going during the New Year, when there would be  _more_ lights,  _more_ people, and  _more_ music.

The stories of the marvelous capital Link heard as a child ran a thousand miles through his head. When they came back from the city, they'd finally have a few of their  _own_ tales to tell. He wished now more than ever that he could talk, so that the next time they visited Ordon Village, he could personally give his accounts to the children and see their excited faces as he wove his words and brought them to the edge of their seats, just as the adults had done for him.

Link did not fall asleep for many hours, and when he did at last, his fantasies transferred into his dreams. The whole night through, he envisioned himself walking down the streets through the world of wonder that was Hyrule City. And as he walked, he came across and made friendsships with members of every race.

The hearty Gorons slapped Link on the back with their massive rock hands, and invited him to be as one of their brothers of the mountains. The majestic Zora beckoned to him from the rivers and swam alongside him into underwater wonderlands of coral and atlantian life. The fiery women of the Gerudo raced next to him on rapid horseback through the scorching deserts, and taught him their exotic, intense, and breath-takingly beautiful dance steps. The mysterious Sheikah took him on as their apprentice and presented to him the secrets of their tribe, craft, and ways of stealth and deduction. The warm-hearted Anouki raised their mugs and pints to him in toast while they feasted in his honor inside their snug and cozy igloos. The free-spirited Rito gave him wings and raised him into the skies, soaring beside him in liberation and rapture. Finally, the wise and honorable Hylians accepted him whole-heartedly into their community, training him as both a scholar and a warrior, and made him a Royal Knight of the highest caliber and rank for the kingdom.

It seemed like everyone on the Hyrule continent and neighboring islands came into Link's dream and celebrated the New Year with him in Hyrule City as he slept. He had unintentionally saved the best for last, for when the time finally came for him to climb the marble steps up to Hyrule Castle, Princess Zelda was waiting for him, standing before the giant, wide-open doors and holding a golden lyre in her hands.

" _Play with me,"_ she said.

She strummed on the lyre while Link followed on his ocarina, and they made music more beautiful than he'd ever heard in his life.


	10. Ordona 9: Hyrule City, Part 1

Four days went by agonizingly for Link and Malon. The news of their upcoming journey to Hyrule City made both of them restless, and it showed in their work. They went out of their way to do more on the ranch than ever before. Besides taking care of the animals, as was their typical task, they washed windows, cleaned gutters, swept and mopped floors, washed dishes, washed laundry, dusted, scrubbed and scoured everything in sight. When everything that could be cleaned or polished was made spotless, they moved onto home repairs and fixed everything with so much as a splinter of damage. On the morning of the fourth day, Talon and Ingo found them on top of the barn, retiling the roof.

"Good God!" Talon exclaimed. "You two are workin' harder than any workers I ever hired in ma life!"

"They probably want more pocket money," guessed Ingo. "For when you head out for the city."

Malon dropped the hammer in her hand and leaned over the side of the roof.

"You'd _pay_ us to do all this stuff?" She called down at them.

"Sure, why not?" said Talon. "It's a mighty big help havin' all this work done bafore we leave."

"But if you didn't know that," said Ingo. "Why the heck are you working so hard?"

"We're so excited to go to Hyrule City, we're trying to distract ourselves," she explained. "If we don't do something to keep busy, we'll go insane. I don't wanna wait to go to Hyrule! I wanna go  **now**!"

"Well in that case," Talon chuckled. "Maybe I won' bother payin' ya."

"NO!" she cried out. "I'm not working for free! I want my money!"

In those four days, despite his excitement, Link slept like a rock and woke up every morning in his rightful bed, instead of finding himself in the nearby woods. He slept so well, in fact, that Malon had to push and shove him out of bed in the morning, but it still pleased her to know he was finally making good use of his room. It seemed to make Epona happy as well, now that she was not required to fetch him every other morning. He hadn't dreamt a single dream since Rusl visited the ranch, and had seen no trace of the three golden triangles on the back of his hand. In time, he forgot all about the triangles.

The rest of the morning continued uneventfully. Now with the promise of extra earnings at the end of the week, Link and Malon worked even harder. That afternoon, as they finished up with the roof, they heard the sounds of clomping hooves approaching the ranch. An armor-clad boy the same age as Link, with brown hair and sharp, pierced ears, rode a pure-white horse through the main gate and halted at the barn. Link found himself noticing the crest of the Royal Family on the rider's armor.

" _That's the armor of the Royal Knights!"_

"Who's the owner of this ranch?" The boy knight demanded awkwardly.

"That's my dad," Malon answered. "He just went into the house. I'll go get him."

Link and Malon made their way to the edge of the roof and carefully dropped down, Link holding Malon's hand to keep her from falling. While she fetched Talon, Link stood by and waited with the knight, and couldn't help but stare at his armor, admiring the intricate details of the steel plates and chain mail.

"Quit staring," the rider blurted suddenly. "What's wrong with you?"

Link jumped at the rider's outburst.

"You're not a queer, are you?"

Link raised an eyebrow before shaking his head.

"Can't you talk at all?"

He put his hand indicatively to his throat.

"I guess not."

The rider stared off into the distant and waited impatiently, tapping his fingers on the horn of the saddle. When he turned back to Link, he saw him admiring the armor even more.

"You like the suit?"

Link smiled and nodded.

"It looks better than it feels. It gets really sweaty, it chafes, and it takes forever to get in and out of. Honestly, its more for show than anything else. You're not thinking of joining the army, are you?"

Link shrugged.

"I wouldn't if I were you. I only joined because my old man made me. It seemed like fun and games, but they have so many regulations about  _everything_ that it pisses me off; when to wake up, when to go to sleep, when to eat, when to crap. It's stupid."

The knight leaned down toward Link and lowered his voice.

"Plus, the only real entry requirement they have that's worth noting is how much money your family has. The less you have, the more you have to pay to get in."

Link's brow furrowed.

"My name's Rio, by the way. I'd ask for yours, but I guess that wouldn't work too well, would it?"

Talon came out of the house, followed by Ingo and Malon.

"Wha's all this 'bout, sir?" Talon addressed the boy, who was at least two decades his junior.

"A message from the King of Hyrule himself," Rio reported. "I'm a crier for the army. I'm traveling to the neighboring regions within the area and giving the message to as many citizens as I can reach, and I've got a long way to go, so if you wouldn't mind."

"Go ahead."

Rio reached into his satchel and pulled out an official-looking parchment. He cleared his throat and began.

"Honourable citizens of Hyrule:

As of recent times, it has become clear to the members of the Royal Family that betrayal exists within the Kingdom.

The Grand Duke of Eldin and King of the Gerudo, Ganondorf Dragmire, has consorted with enemies and committed high treason against his Royal Majesty, High King Daphnes Nohansen Harkinian of Hyrule. Upon further revelation, the Gerudo King Ganondorf has openly announced emancipation of his tribe from the Kingdom of Hyrule, and therefore it is with the greatest of sorrows that we, the Seventy Parliamentary Burgesses of Hyrule, declare Civil War with the Gerudo Nation."

Rio stopped reading to let the news sink in. He'd mildly expected shock and fear, but was disappointed.

"Again?!" Ingo complained, disgusted. "It hasn't been that long."

"The last one ended right 'bout when Link came to the ranch, so it's been almost sixteen years."

"Shh!" Malon interrupted. "I want to hear the rest."

" _Me too."_

Rio continued.

"In addition to this devastating news, reports of severe ecological and environmental damage have been made directly to the High King, and are as follows:

High and numerous volcanic activities have been reported within the mountain ranges of both Labrynna and Holodrom. Death Mountain and Mount Lynna are both expected to erupt within a year of one another, and the glaciers of Mount Horon and Snowpeak are rapidly melting. Venom of an unknown nature is slowly seeping into and poisoning the vast woodlands of Faron, leaving the citizens no choice but to evacuate their homes. Unnatural hurricanes are plaguing the Ocean Kingdom, and the rivers and lakes of Lanayru are mysteriously freezing over. Great flash floods and violent thunderstorms are becoming more and more constant throughout Eldin.

In response to these calamities, with the permission of the High King, the General of the Army has ordered thousands of troops into the neighboring provinces to maintain a peaceful uphold of the law and to gain a full perspective on the ongoing situation of the Kingdom.

The citizens of Hyrule are advised to act in a diplomatic manner with regards to this news. Be wary of any suspicious activity, do not panic, and notify the appropriate authorities of any unlawful conduct.

Signed, Kaepora Gaebora, Representative Speaker of The Seventy Parliamentary Burgesses, and His Royal Majesty, High King Daphnes Nohansen Harkinian of Hyrule."

With the message brought forth and completed, Rio returned the parchment to his satchel and picked up his reins.

"I bid you all good day," he replied, saluted, then cast a smile Malon's way.

"My lady."

" _Wait, what?"_

Rio winked at her, and departed the ranch on his steed. Link watched him leave, aghast.

" _Did he just…?!"_

"Wow," Malon breathed. "I knew things were bad, but I didn't think they were  _that_ bad."

" _Hey, wait a minute!"_

"Although, didn't it seem weird?"

"What do you mean, Malon?" asked Ingo.

"I get the war announcement and all, but did they really have to put in that stuff about all the ecological damage? Of course people have a right to know if a volcano is going to explode, especially if they live right next to it, but was it really appropriate? The whole passage after the war announcement seemed really weird to me."

She noticed the intense looks that both her father and uncle were giving her.

"Sorry, I guess I'm just thinking out loud."

Talon gave a great sigh.

"Kids, let's get the carriage ready."

"Why, Dad?"

"We're leavin' for Hyrule City."

"What? Right now?"

"Right now."

" _Huh?!"_

Malon and Link did double takes.

"Don' stand there gawkin' at me! Go get the cart!"

Link and Malon stood staring silently at Talon, before running toward the stable.

"Talon?" asked Ingo.

"I don' wanna talk 'bout it."

"Malon's getting too smart for her own good."

"I said I ain't talkin' about it!"

The dismantled carriage laid against the back of the stable in assorted pieces. Link and Malon set to work reassembling them.

"Is it just me, or did today get really weird?"

Link's mind itched about crazily as he shoved the spokes into the wheels and aligned them onto the cart, nearly breaking them in the process.

"Link, are you okay? You're putting those in kind of hard."

When he jammed the last spoke into the wheel, it shattered.

"Link! Would you pay attention?! What's your problem?!"

Malon ripped the wheel and broken spoke away from him.

"Now I have to go get a replacement! Is this about that crier for the army, and how he winked at me?"

" _Dang it, she can read me like a book."_

Caught red-handed, Link looked away and rubbed the back of his neck in shame.

"Don't be such a baby! I can't believe you're worried about something like that, when we've just been informed that we're at war! He didn't mean anything by it, Link. He was just being polite. He kind of reminded me of you, actually."

" _Eh?"_

Link's confused countenance was response enough for Malon.

"Yeah. His hair was brown, but other than that he looked almost exactly like you. He even had the same blue eyes."

_"I guess I didn't notice."_

"Even if he was flirting with me, there's no way I'd date him. It would be way too close to dating you. It'd be too weird. I'll be right back."

Malon took the broken spoke and walked around toward the other side of the stable, leaving Link to gather his thoughts. She did have a point. Rio had taken time to see them out on their dinky little ranch to give them vital information regarding the country, but all he'd concerned himself with was what had more than likely been an innocent gesture. People winked at him all the time, including Talon, Ingo and Rusl. It certainly didn't mean they were hitting on him. How could he have interpreted something so simple as something completely different? The fact that the gesture worried him more than the war was bad enough. Was he so comfortable with his life here on the ranch that impending battle with one of their own provinces meant so little to him? Was he  _that_  selfish?

Malon was right, he was being a baby. That wink from Rio had ruffled his feathers way more than it should have. Even if he  _had_ flirted with Malon, did it really matter that much? He didn't care if other men liked her. Not one bit… Okay, that was a lie. He  _did_ care, and quite a bit, actually. She was his sister, after all. He'd known her his whole life. He couldn't help feeling protective of her, especially when it came to strange men. But at least he didn't have to worry about Rio anymore, since Malon just finished saying he resembled him too much to be comfortable dating him.

Come to think of it, he  _did_ look an awful lot like Link. He hadn't thought much of it or even noticed because he was too busy admiring Rio's armor, but now that Malon mentioned it, the physical resemblance was uncanny. He was in nearly every way Link's double, save for his chocolate hair and paler skin.

" _I bet if he had gotten off that horse, he would've been just as tall as me, too."_

"Link, you better not have stopped working!"

Malon came back with a new spoke for the wheel.

"Come on! The sooner we finish making the cart, the sooner we get to go to Hyrule! Let's hurry!"

Link snapped to attention and went back to assembling the carriage. At Malon's mention of Hyrule City, he couldn't help feeling giddy. He had no idea why Talon had changed his mind about when to leave, but it didn't matter. They were going, and they'd be there tonight! Rio left Link's thoughts entirely as he and Malon quickly finished assembling the cart. When it was finished, Malon retrieved two horses from the stable, drew them to the carriage, and then drove it toward the main gate.

"Let's go tell Dad so we can get ready! I can't believe we're finally going to Hyrule!"

With the carriage ready for loading, Talon, Malon, and Link hurried to gather their luggage and necessities, along with as many crates of milk as they could fit in the back. They were just about to leave when Link came out of the house one more time, carrying the Ordon Sword.

"Son, you can't take that with us."

" _Why not?"_

"They won't let us past the guard tower if you bring that," Malon pointed out. "And with the war just announced, security's gonna be even tighter than normal, as if it wasn't bad enough."

"Besides, you wouldn't want it ta get stolen, would ya?"

_"Definitely don't want that to happen."_

Link took the sword back inside and left it on his bed. He saw his ocarina sitting on the desk, and the urge to take it with him was worth the risk of theft. He stuffed it into his pocket and turned to leave when he saw something that saddened him every time he looked upon it. Sitting on his desk, underneath where the ocarina had been, was a strip of cloth with his name written in blood. The cloth had faded, turned a dirty brown, and pieces of thread were starting to fall off. The blood was rusted and barely legible, and was now chipping away. It was in very poor condition.

* * *

"Link?"

"He's not waking up anytime soon. Don't bother."

Hearing Talon call his name in his sleep, Link opened his groggy eyes and peered out at the two shadows lingering over him.

"Well I'll be. He's awake."

"Link! Thank goodness your all right!"

His body was so numb and stiff all over that when his brain sent out signals to move, the rest of him didn't respond. His fingers twitched.

"Don't try to move, son. You've been hurt."

One of the shadows was obviously Talon, but he couldn't recognize this voice speaking to him, though it sounded familiar. He shifted his eyes to the unknown shadow and squinted at it.

"I'm the doctor. Do you remember me? We met in Ordon Village."

Oh, so that's who it was. Link slowly opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

"Don't try to talk either. I've got some bad news for you, son. You won't be using your voice again. Not for the rest of your life."

_"…What?"_

"Link?"

A voice he recognized instantly, though it was only a whisper, filled the room so sweetly that it brought tears to his eyes. A third shadow hovered over him.

"What did you say to him?!" Malon's voice hissed. "He's crying!"

"I told him the truth he deserves to hear, and I don't think it has anything to do with his crying."

It was true. Hearing Malon's voice, a smile lit up Link's face.

_"I thought I'd never see you again…"_

For the first time since he woke up, Link's body responded to what he wanted it to do. He barely managed to lift his hand, and Malon took it.

"Link! I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! If I hadn't made us go to the spring… then, you'd- I'm sorry, Link! I'm sorry!"

She sobbed uncontrollably as she grasped his hand in both of hers.

"Sweety, I need a minute ta talk to Link. Can you wait outside, just for a moment? You can come back in right after."

Malon wiped her arm across her eyes.

"…Okay."

_"Wait! Please don't go…"_

Malon released Link's hand and walked shakily out of the room. The shadows were now forming discernible shapes, and he could see the details of the room. He realized it was the same one he'd woken up in after the thieves had beaten him.

_"…We never left Ordon Village."_

He was lying in bed, with more bandages around his body than he thought possible. His right arm was bound in a cast, and although he couldn't see it, he could feel a brace around his neck.

_"What happened…?"_

He looked up hopelessly at the doctor.

"An old tree that was bound to fall any day, ended up falling on you. Did some mighty bad damage, too. Broke your arm, and nearly shattered your spine. You're lucky to be alive, son."

_"But why…?"_

His eyes stared up pleadingly.

"When the tree fell, one of the branches pierced into your throat, your larynx to be more exact. It's the part of your body that makes it so you can talk. You were bleeding into your lungs, and we couldn't let that happen, so in order to save you, I had to remove your larynx. I'm sorry, son, but you'll never be able to speak again."

"Link," Talon interrupted the doctor's lengthy explanation. "Malon told me 'bout how you were feelin'."

_"How I was…feeling?"_

He looked confusedly up at Talon.

"About how you were wonderin' who yer parents are?"

_"Oh…yeah…"_

His confusion cleared. He wished Malon hadn't told Talon about that, since his worry about his parents hardly seemed important now. He cast his eyes away from Talon.

"You're not in trouble for wonderin' about them. I expected it for a while, son, and frankly I don' blame ya. I've been holdin' onto this ever since you came to the ranch, and I was waitin' for the right time ta give it to ya. If now ain't tha right time, I don' know when is."

Talon reached into his front pocket and very carefully removed a strip of cloth. He unfolded it and gently placed it in Link's hand.

_"…That's-!"_

* * *

After his accident in Ordon Village, Talon had revealed and given him a cloth strip, with Link's name written in blood. It had worn away with age even when Talon had presented it, so Link did everything he could to preserve the precious slip over the years. It was the only clue to his parents, and it was proof that they hadn't simply dumped him off on someone else to raise; the blood convinced him of that, since bleeding people don't stop for just any reason to give their children up. Link had been more grateful to Talon than ever for giving it to him.

A thought occurred to Link, and he took the slip from his desk, folded it, and carefully stowed it into his pocket. Maybe he could find his parents in Hyrule City. It wouldn't be much of a lead, and since the note was written in blood it was likely they weren't even alive, but it was something, and it was good enough for him. He remembered himself thinking that if anything existed, any kind of trinket or treasure, then it was for sale in Hyrule City. Couldn't the same be true of finding people? If they were out there somewhere, maybe they were living in the city, or at least had been there before. And if not, maybe there was someone who knew them, or had seen them before. It was possible, wasn't it? Why not?

With the slip of cloth tucked away, Link went back outside to meet the others.

"Here ya go, kids."

Talon pulled out four red Rupees and divided them evenly between the two teenagers.

"Aww, only forty? Come on, Dad."

"Sorry darlin', but I can't afford ta give you more than that. Things are tough on the ranch, nowadays. Get in the cart so's we can leave. Not you, Link."

Malon stepped up into the passenger's seat while Link waited.

"Go an' get Epona. Ridin' alongside us will be lot more comfortable than bein' stuck in the back of the carriage."

Link left to retrieve his mare.

"We should see if we can be business partners with Cremia," Malon suggested. "I bet she'd be willing to split profits with us, since she's doing so well, right?"

"It ain't right fer a grown man ta ask a lady like her fer help like that."

"It's not asking for help, Dad. It's doing business. After everything Link did to save her ranch when we were kids, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to sign on with us."

"That's enough for now, Malon," Talon sighed as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Fine, but when you and Uncle Ingo are crusty old men who can't work anymore, I get to do whatever I want with the ranch."

Link came back, leading Epona and carrying a saddle, blanket, and halter under his arm. He led Epona to the carriage, saddled up, and mounted.

"I know it's a last minute change a plans," said Talon. "So I hope you can manage the ranch while we're gone."

"Of course I can," Ingo snapped. "I hope you can manage two unruly teenagers in the big city."

Malon stuck her tongue out at her uncle. Talon chuckled.

"We'll be back in a few days."

"Bye, Uncle Ingo!"

Link waved.

"See you guys later."

Talon set the drawn horses at a quick, steady trot, and Link followed pace with Epona. Ingo watched them leave before going back to work. He closed the gates to the ranch and headed toward the barn.

"Might as well keep this place up while they're gone. Those kids worked so hard fixin' and cleanin', there's not much to do except manage the animals."

He opened the barn's giant doors and stopped.

"What the- what're you doing in here?!"

He was grabbed by the straps of his overalls and yanked into the barn, and the sounds of a struggle began.

"Let go of me! What're you- Ack! Oof!… Unh…"

The others continued southward toward the Hyrule Province, far out of earshot.

"Link, how much money do you have saved up?"

Link had kept careful track of his money over the months. Counting the forty rupees given to him today, he raised four fingers.

"Just the 40? Link, I thought you were bet-"

Link shook his head.

"Not 40? Then…is it 400?"

He nodded.

"That sounds more like you. How do you manage to save up so well? With this 40, all I've got is 170. A girl can't go shopping with 170 Rupees!"

Link shrugged sheepishly. Malon leaned over the carriage toward him.

"Oh, Link," she said, laying on the sugar. "Couldn't you find it in your heart to share some of your wealth with me?"

Link grinned while raising an eyebrow.

"Oh come on! Pretty please?"

"Why don' cha let him decide after we get to the city?"

"What're you gonna spend your money on, Link?"

His thoughts went immediately to the bloody name on the cloth, but he did his best not to show it, so he shrugged. It seemed a reasonable response, since there would be so much in the markets to choose from that deciding beforehand seemed unbelievable.

"Well I know exactly what I'm doing. I'm gonna buy as many souvenirs as I can, and then give them to the kids in Ordon Village!"

" _Huh? Really?"_

"You didn't think I'd do something so nice, did you?"

Malon smiled sneakily at him. Once again, she'd read him like a book.

" _Oh come on! Not even my thoughts are private here."_

Malon had Link figured out ever since he lost his voice. She knew him best, even before the accident, so it hadn't taken her long to learn his silent mannerisms. It was perhaps for the best, since she was the only one who could tell what he was thinking and could translate for others. It saved him the trouble of having to carry a slate and stylus everywhere he went just so he could convey his thoughts, but it still proved annoying. He hoped she hadn't read his mind and figured out that he would try and find his parents with his money.

Link lied forward and rested on Epona's long neck and soft mane, staring out at the field they were now traversing, Hyrule Field.

"We'll be crossin' the border into Hyrule Province soon enough."

Malon leaned over the cart and tapped Link's shoulder.

"I know you brought your ocarina, Link," she said, smiling. "Can't you play us some songs while we travel?"

Link pulled the tiny ocarina out of his pocket, gave Epona free rein to follow the cart, and played the first song that came to his mind. It was a soft, placid song, one he'd never played, or even heard before, but he played it and was happy with the result nonetheless. It had a sad and lonely feel to it, but somehow, it almost felt nostalgic.

"Wow," Malon replied breathlessly. "That one ran chills up my spine. You have such a way with that ocarina, Link. Where did you learn that song?"

" _Beats me."_

He figured he'd made it up on the fly, but at the same time, it couldn't have been random. It must've come from somewhere, but he just didn't know where.

"Don't stop!" Malon pleaded. "Play some more!"

Link rolled his eyes and continued on, playing as many songs as he could, making up a few as he went. Malon sang along with the ones she knew, and sat in silence listening to the ones she didn't. Link's music kept them company for their journey. As they traveled, the sky above turned from viridian to sharp pink and tangerine. The afternoon breezes began to die down as the air grew cooler. The fields around them changed from golden amber to fresh green as they made their way southwest, and shrank further down until the flowing grass was stout and cut abruptly short. Night began to fall.

After playing for so many hours straight, Link collapsed forward onto Epona's neck, gasping for breath.

"One more, Link! One more!"

" _I can't! My lips are killing me!"_

"Give the boy a break, girl," Talon laughed. "It probably gets tiring blowin' air through that tiny thing all the time. We're almost there, anyhow, so he might as well stop."

"Look!" Malon cried, leaning forward and pointing. "You can see the city from here!"

Link shielded his eyes from the setting sun and squinted. From a distance, Hyrule City's skyline was dimly visible. The buildings were black against the backdrop of the sunset, and looked smoggy against the far-off settling clouds.

" _I can't see them very well."_

"We'll get a better view ah the city once we get closer."

"We made such good time, too! We're almost there! We've nearly reached Hyrule City!"

Malon danced in her seat.

"Calm down, girl! Just chill a minute, an' we'll be there 'fore you know it."

"I can't help it! I'm so excited, I can't hold it in!"

Malon trembled eagerly for the rest of the journey, and Link couldn't help but share her excitement. The thousand-year old city that withstood centuries of war and devastation was majestic and powerful in every conceivable way. Watching the skyline grow taller, and the details of the city buildings and curtain walls flesh out as they drew closer and closer, made Link and Malon grow anxious by the minute.

The royally grandiose castle rose up and pierced the sky out of the comparably tiny row of surrounding buildings. Made purely of marble and granite, with lofty battlements and guard towers on all sides, it loomed over the city in ominous marvel, hinting not so subtly at the history and pain that had built it up over the ages. The castle demanded undivided attention from its spectators with its strict geometric design, declaring to all who gazed up at it, 'I am the Castle of Hyrule City, and you will give me the respect I merit.'

Rising beside the castle on the west was another equally striking, though not as demanding structure. The Temple of Time, also built of solid white marble, did not insist on respect, unlike its sister building, because it didn't have to. Instead, its architecture projected an overwhelming sense of spirituality. Its stained-glass windows and prominent clock tower, with its incisive steeple, bestowed piety upon the city. While the Castle of Hyrule ordered the citizens into lawful and orderly submission, the Temple of Time, without speaking a word, looked peacefully upon the townspeople, inviting them into its protective, sheltered walls where anyone could pray, meditate upon themselves, or simply rest from worldly concerns.

The two buildings complemented one another flawlessly. With the two historic structures looming over the city, Hyrule Castle the strong, independent husband, and the Temple of Time the loving, motherly wife, hand in hand in perfect unity, all the other buildings of Hyrule City were in familial balance with one another, and the citizens lived in virtue and peace.

Even from miles away, Link felt goosebumps form on his arms and the back of his neck. Having never seen the city before, much less its two most historically important buildings, going shopping now seemed like the most impractical idea in the world. His intentions shifted immediately as soon as the two imposing structures came into view.

" _As soon as we get in those gates, that's where I'm going."_

It took half an hour since they'd first seen the skyline for them to travel close enough to clearly see Hyrule Castle and the Temple of Time. It took another half hour before they reached the outskirts and protective moat. Night was falling, but instead of the world fading into dark, the sky was lit up by the brilliant city lights. Even from far away, and especially at this time in the evening, the sounds of the city goers could be heard through the city walls. When the family arrived at the gatehouse entrance of the city, they were not alone. To their dismay, hundreds of others like them, tourists and travelers, merchants and musicians, bards and scholars, all of them varying of every race, and most of them with carts and carriages of their own, were in an inconceivably long line that stretched from the gatehouse and out for hundreds of feet.

"Oh man!" whined Malon. "It's going to take forever to get into the city!"

"Not that it matters," Talon yawned. "Even if there weren't a line, I planned on goin' straight to the inn where we'll be stayin' anyways. We got nothin' better to do, so we might as well wait our turn like ever'one else here."

Talon slowed the drawn horses to a steady trot while Link dismounted Epona, leading her by the reins.

" _Why is everyone staring at me?"_

They made their way into line, along with even more people approaching the city. Timid yet enchanted glances looked his way. Everyone whispered excitedly back and forth to one another, pointing and looking his direction. A Zora who watched Link approach the city turned and indicated him to his brethren, and when they saw him, they smiled diplomatically and approvingly. Nearly everyone who saw Link smiled at him that same way, but when he moved to meet their gaze, they quickly turned away.

Children holding their parents' hands were suddenly compelled to rip away from their guardians and invade Link's personal space, oohing and ahhing at him. He backed away, trying to keep the children from hounding him. Epona began to stamp her hooves and snort nervously.

" _What in the world?!"_

"Look, Daddy!" A tiny Goron boy pointed up at Link with his chubby rock finger. "It's a hero!"

" _Ehh?! Hero?"_

Link looked around hastily and realized that Talon and Malon were nowhere to be found.

" _Where'd they go? I only turned around for a second!"_

"It's not nice to point at others, son," the Goron father chastised his son and went to pull him away from Link, but not before Epona reared onto her hind legs and brayed loudly.

The children surrounding Link began crying out and running away from him, desperate to get out of the mare's way. A tiny Hylian girl tripped clumsily on her own two feet and fell right in front of Epona's path. She screamed as the heavy horse loomed over her and came crashing down. Link plucked the girl from the ground just as Epona landed heavily. With the child in one arm, he reached toward Epona and set to work soothing her, smoothing his hand across her face and nose. When Epona finally steadied, Link turned to the young girl in his arm with an imploring look. She looked back at him in wide-eyed astonishment, her cheeks burning bright crimson.

The whispering around them quieted, and by now everyone in the enormously long line was staring at Link. The girl's mother streaked through the crowd, calling out her daughter's name, but when she saw her in Link's arms, she stopped short and cautiously approached.

"Please s-sir, may I have my daughter?"

"He's really nice, Mommy!" the girl suddenly blurted, laughing. "He saved me from getting squished!"

Her exclamation brought about a whole new set of chattering among the people, and this time, they  _all_ hounded him. Most of their chattering was garbled and confused, but key phrases could be heard that almost everyone agreed with.

"Just look at that kid!"

"That's a hero, all right!"

"He looks just like  _him_!"

" _What the heck is going on?!"_

"Link!"

Malon's indistinguishable voice called out from the crowd. She shoved her way past the spectators, much to their annoyance, and made her way to Link.

"Link?" asked someone in the crowd.

"His name is Link!"

"Just like  _him_!"

"He  _must_ be a hero!"

Despite the growing crowd, Malon finally pushed her way to where Link was standing.

"What are you doing?! Dad and I are already at the gates, and you go and get yourself lost and… what's with her?"

She pointed at the Hylian girl in Link's arms. He handed the girl back to her mother.

"What's with  _them_?" Malon looked to the crowd.

" _Let's get out of here!"_

Link grasped Malon by her shoulders and prepared to push through the thick bushel of onlookers, but instead of forming a formidable wall against them like he'd expected, they dispersed, opening a path for him.

" _Okay, this is just weird."_

"Link, let go of me!"

He released her, and with the way now open, Link, Malon, and Epona made their way to the gatehouse, crossing the wide drawbridge and moat, and finally approaching the entrance.

Several guards, all Knights of the Royal Army, patrolled the gates. Many of them paced back and forth on the turrets above, keeping watch over the entering denizens, some with bows in hand, others with rifles. They eyed Link suspiciously as he approached the gates. The rest were stationed at the gate, checking the travel documents of everyone who approached, conducting bag checks and body searches when necessary. None of these guards looked up toward him except the one who standing beside their cart. Talon had climbed down from the driver's seat and was standing next to the guard.

"There ya are, boy. Where in blazes did you go?"

" _Sorry."_

Link looked at Talon apologetically.

"Is this your son, sir?" The guard asked.

"Yes sir," Talon replied.

"Very well. Let me see his passport."

"Hey!"

A guard up in the turret climbed down from the ladder and came to the knight they were conversing with. He whispered hurriedly to him, then scrambled back up to the turret.

"I'm sorry, sir," their knight finally answered. "But your son will not be allowed admittance into the city."

"What?! In the name of Din, why not?!"

"Because," he raised his voice and looked at Link sternly, "I've just been informed that your 'son' is responsible for starting a riot."

" _What?!"_

"That's bull!" Malon screamed angrily. "Link would never do such a thing!"

"Then what do you call the activity that flared up just a few minutes ago, young lady?" the guard sarcastically bit back.

"That's- well, I," Malon froze. "What  _was_ that, Link?"

" _Don't look at me! I don't know what it was!"_

Link shook his head at Malon and the guard. For all he knew, everyone in the line had suddenly decided he was more entertaining than whatever else they were doing and decided to harass him. He had no idea that the unwanted attention could be viewed as a riot, and certainly had no intention of starting one in the first place.

"Well according to my comrade, you purposefully agitated the other visitors, and then released your horse into the line and sent a panic through the crowd."

Rio's words suddenly echoed through Link's head.

" _They only care about how much money your family has."_

"Speak up, boy!" the guard barked angrily. "Don't you say anything?"

"Quit yelling at him!" Malon defended him. "Link lost his voice when we were just kids, so he can't talk! Leave him alone!"

"Can't talk?"

The guard's tone shifted to mild surprise, and he took one long look at Link.

"How does a boy who can't even speak go about starting riots?"

"He doesn't, that's how!" Malon exclaimed. The guard sighed.

"Even so," he continued. "There's still something funny going on here. Are you sure he is who you say he is?"

"Of course I am!" Talon barked. "Why would I lie?"

"Well for starters…"

The guard suddenly grabbed Link's ear before anyone could stop him. Link writhed under the painful pinch.

" _Let go of me!"_

"He's clearly a Hylian, and you sir, are clearly not. How can he possibly be your son, unless you've had a love affair of some sorts?"

Talon's face turned red, and a nerve in his temple popped out.

"How dare ya?! The very notion of such a thing!"

The guard released Link's ear.

"Struck a nerve, did I? This of course can all be cleared up if you happen to have a copy of his birth certificate."

Link's eyes popped as the hammer of an idea struck him on the head. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his bloody strip, and shoved it into the knight's hand. The knight looked at it grotesquely.

"What is  _this_?" He asked, staring at it in disgust.

"There's your birth certificate,  _sir_!" Malon exclaimed angrily, understanding Link's intentions the moment he revealed the cloth. "We found Link outside the ranch when he was just a baby, and that strip in your hand is the only proof of his name that he has! If you wanna challenge it, go ahead, but don't you dare accuse my father of a love affair because of Link's circumstances!"

"All right all right," the guard groaned. "We'll let you into the city. Just take it back. Geez."

Squeezing it between his thumb and forefinger, the knight handed the bloody strip back to Link.

"You just watch your step, boy, and see if you don't get into anymore trouble. Give me his passport, please."

" _Whew! That was close."_

As Talon presented the travel documents to the guard, Link was reminded of a comment Cremia made at one time in his life.

" _Man, was she right. I really_   _am a magnet for trouble."_

Link stood by impatiently while his adoptive father and the guard discussed boring topics. He watched as people approached the gatehouse and were let into the city by the guards. He grew irritated when he saw several of them slip rupees into the guards' hands.

"You ain't gettin' in this city if it's the last thing I do, ya filthy Gerudo!"

This livid yell caught Link's attention. A nearby guard who appeared to be in his 50s, heavy in weight with a bushy mustache, threw some travel documents into the face of young, tan-faced woman, no older than Malon. She did her best to plead with him in broken Hylian.

"Please! I need get into city! My daughter me need place rest! We leave morning!"

"Didn't ya hear me?! I said get lost!"

A tiny girl, who looked as though she'd barely learned to walk, stood feebly behind her mother, clinging to her, and holding a stuffed animal in her arm that looked gigantic compared to her.

"Hey! What's that in your hand?" The guard suddenly demanded of the toddler. He tore the stuffed animal away, causing her to cry and reach out helplessly for the animal. The guard inspected the toy thoroughly, turning it over in his hands, and then pulled a short knife from his belt.

"If you're trying to smuggle drugs into the city, you're in big trouble!"

The knife went straight into the stuffed toy's belly and slashed it in half. Watching her object of comfort be destroyed, the girl could do nothing but cry out in horror and despair. At the sight, Link felt his heart go out to the toddler. His anger rose like the magma of a firey volcano.

The toddler took a step toward the guard, her tiny hands extended. The mother moved forward and stooped down to pull her child away.

"Get away from me, slut!"

The guard's gauntlet-ed hand came up and smashed against the Gerudo woman's face, making a sickening cracking noise. She was sent sprawling on the ground, rubbing the wallop on her cheek, trying to stop her bleeding nose while her child held the remains of her imaginary friend in her hands.

"All right, Link. Step over here so we can…Link? Talon, where's your son?"

Link felt his body tremble in rage as he moved hurriedly toward the abusive guard. He was still screaming at the young woman on the ground when Link grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around.

"What the- what d'you wa-" The guard was cut short when Link threw a tightly clenched fist into his face. It didn't work. The guard saw the fist coming and caught it in his gauntlet before it made contact.

"You tryin' to start a fight, son?"

" _Oh…Crap…"_

Link's rage and hopes to beat up the guard shattered into horror at the terrible choice he'd just made. It was only a second before the other guards saw their chance and were upon him. They yanked Link away from the line and grabbed both of his arms so tightly that he couldn't move, struggle as he might.

"Well then, let's fight! Come on!"

Link squeezed his eyes shut, tightened his muscles, and braced himself as the knight's blows landed. The first kick hit Link in his loins, sending a white hot flash of pain through his body. He collapsed as the guards released his arms and joined in, belittling him the whole way.

"Fight like a man!"

"Get up, why don't cha?"

"Come on, little boy!"

Panicked cries rang out from the people in line as he lied on the ground and endured his beating. The pummeling was all the more painful, since the guards were wearing metal gloves and heavy boots. He curled into fetal position, attempting to guard the weak spots on his body.

"LINK!"

Malon and Talon jumped toward him, but they both were held back by two other guards.

"Let him go!" She screamed. "He didn't do anything! Link!"

Despite her cries, Malon could only watch helplessly as the Royal Knights beat Link to a pulp. As Link laid protectively on the ground, trying to avoid hits to any major parts, he peered up cautiously to see where the Gerudo woman and her daughter had gone, but did not see them.

" _Good. They must've snuck through in the confusion."  
_

One of the knight's kicks landed on Link's cheek just below his eye, so he ducked down again. It felt like an eternity went by before the fight was finally intervened upon.

"That's enough, gentlemen," a strong, deadpan voice ordered gently yet firmly.

The blows abruptly stopped, with one last kick aimed at Link's stomach before the knights cleared the way. When it was safe, Link shakily got to his feet, casually spitting blood, staring as hard as he could at the ground. Malon broke free of Talon's grasp and rushed to his side.

"Link! Are you okay? You're bleeding!"

She lightly touched his face, but he pushed her hand away.

"Quit being sore, and let me see! Please."

He cast a sour glare her way, saw her sincerity, and reluctantly yielded. He stood still while Malon briefly looked him over.

"What happened here?" The same voice that stopped the fight directed the knights.

"Sir Raven, sir!" One of the knights exclaimed. "This kid started a riot and assaulted one of our officers!"

"It's true, sir," said another one. "I saw the whole thing!"

"Is that so?"

Link looked to his supposed savior, and frowned. Standing before him was a man with blond hair, Hylian ears, and broad shoulders. He was obviously a Royal Knight, but he wasn't wearing the indicative armor. Instead, he was garbed in a dark olive tunic, black leggings, and black leather boots and gloves. He had only a few inches on Link, but his stature was all the larger for it. Sir Raven looked coldly down on Link.

"Care to explain yourself, son?"

" _Why does everyone have to keep calling me that?"_

"L-Link can't talk, sir," Malon explained, her voice quivering. "H-he lost his voice when we were kids."

Sir Raven looked at Malon without saying a word, so she continued.

"We already cleared up the riot with one of the other guards. Link w-wouldn't do such a thing. And he wouldn't try to hurt any of your guards ei–"

Malon was stopped when Link grasped her shoulder and met her gaze. They looked into each others' eyes before she understood.

"Link?!" She gasped. "You mean you really…"

"Aha!" One of the knights shouted. "He admits it!"

"Take him to the dungeon!"

The knights clamored in agreement when Raven whipped his head around and glared furiously at them. They were silenced instantly.

"I saw more than enough of the incident to know what fully happened," Sir Raven said prudently. "I don't know why this young man felt compelled to go after one of my men, but I hardly comprehend the reasoning of my fellow soldiers as to why you felt the need to overwhelm and pummel him."

Aware of the changing tides, the soldiers cast their eyes down in shame.

"Explain something to me," Raven continued, and began pacing in front of them. "You've all been trained to defend yourselves in situations such as these, have you not?"

By now, the lines entering into the city had all stopped and were watching the spectacle with great interest. None of the soldiers said a word, and though they wore helmets to cover their faces, their cheeks burned red through.

"Have you?!" he asked again, this time his voice livid.

"Yes, Sir Raven, Sir!" The knights stood at attention and answered in unison.

"Then should I be correct when I say that you, Officer Wallace, are more than capable of handling one mere boy by yourself?"

The one who had abused the Gerudo woman, the one Link had confronted, finally spoke.

"Yes, Sir Raven."

"And yet," Raven stopped pacing and stood within inches of the man's face. "When your subordinates saw fit to intervene on the situation, what did you do?"

The knight, Wallace as he had been called, gave no answer."

"What did you do?!"

"I allowed them to go out of control, Sir Raven."

"You allowed them to go out of control!" Raven repeated angrily. "They took the boy by his arms and proceeded to beat him! Instead of ordering them to stand down, you allowed the situation to get out of hand!"

Sir Raven moved closely to the knight and whispered something in his ear that made Wallace's face turn white in fear. Then, he spoke aloud once more, and resumed his pacing.

"This isn't the first incident where your behavior has been more than reprehensible. Need I remind you that you're on thin ice, Officer Wallace?"

"No sir," he growled.

"By this time tomorrow, I expect a full report of this incident on my desk tomorrow. Are we clear, Wallace?"

"Yes, sir."

"Now get back to work. As for the rest of you," he turned to the other knights who had beaten Link. "Some of you are fresh out of the academy, or are not far from it. You are supposed to be examples of the chivalry and bravery that the Royal family and this city have to offer! What kind of glory did you expect to gain from this?!"

"Sorry, Sir Raven," they mumbled weakly.

"You will all spend the next two weeks cleaning the mess hall,  _and_ the restrooms of the academy! Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. You can start right now. Dismissed."

The knights, in their humiliation, did their best to march away with pride. Just then, an ache went through Link's shoulder and it slumped. He looked down at his arm and tried to move it, but all he managed was a twitch from his fingers.

" _Great, now my arm is broken."_

He moved his other hand to push his shoulder back into its socket, but only succeeded in sending a horrible jolt through his shoulder. He gasped in pain, and Malon noticed immediately.

"Link! Let me do it!"

"And you!" Raven turned suddenly on Link. "Your intentions may have been well-placed, but we don't take kindly to vigilante justice in these parts. When you saw my fellow knight abusing the Gerudo, you should've brought it to someone's attention. Instead, you put yourself in an extremely dangerous situation where things quickly got out of control! We as the Knights of Hyrule are charged with protecting this nation and its inhabitants, but we can't do that when uncontrollable teenagers go around playing the hero!"

"Hey, lay off him!" Malon fought back angrily. "Hasn't he been through enough?!"

Link grabbed Malon's shoulder with his good arm and glared at her.

"Well what am I supposed to do, stand here and let him bite your head off?!"

His glare continued.

"I swear," she mumbled. "You're such a boy."

"Your actions were irresponsible and idiotic!" Raven continued. "You charged in without thinking in the slightest, intending to assault one of my officers, and paid dearly for that notion! If I were in a different state of mind I'd see fit to throw you into prison!"

Malon grumbled and gritted her teeth as she set to work resetting Link's arm, but he stood humbly with his head held low as Raven scolded him.

" _Stupid…"_

Raven thrust a finger under Link's chin and forced his head up.

"You're not stupid. I can tell just from looking, so if that's the thought in your head, then I'd stop it right now."

" _Huh? How did he…"_

"None of this is your fault," Sir Raven said quietly, his tone shifting from justified anger to paternal guidance. "You will be allowed into the city, you and your family, but the next time a situation such as this occurs, you'd be wise to take a more appropriate action."

Link stared confusedly at Raven, who released his chin and turned to the remaining knights at the gates.

"I will escort this young man and his family into the city personally. Remain here and continue security."

"But sir!"

"That's an order!"

"Yes sir!"

Raven strode to where Talon stood.

"Did you have anywhere to stay for the night?"

"Ah... I always stay at Telma's place, every time I come here."

"Very well. Finish setting his arm, then gather your belongings and come with me."

In one swift, gentle movement, Malon jerked Link's limp arm outward, pulled it up, and pushed it into his socket, all without causing the slightest discomfort. Link tested his arm, swinging it up and over.

"You did that quite well," Raven complimented her.

"When you live on a ranch with a bunch of reckless idiots, resetting arms is second nature."

Link mounted Epona once more, Malon and Talon boarded the cart, and they prepared to follow Sir Raven when a new guard warily approached him.

"Sir Raven," he began nervously, and Raven nodded, acknowledging him.

"If you don't mind me asking, how is your search going?"

Raven looked thoughtfully at Malon and Talon, then toward Link, then smiled as he turned back to the conversing guard.

"As a matter of fact, it's going quite well."

Before the guard could say anything else, Raven strode onward into the city, walking side by side with Talon's cart. As they moved away from the gates, Link could hear Officer Wallace's grumbling voice.

"That guy…I outta be his superior, not the other way around. Raven's only got the position he's got cause he hung onto his brother's coattails…"

If the situation had gone better and Link weren't in an understandably rotten mood, he would have been amazed at the number and vivacity of the people thriving around him. The nightlife of Hyrule City hustled and bustled around them everywhere they went. Colorful figures of every shape, size, stature and race filled the streets, talking loudly and cheerfully in every language of the land. Their chatter mixed harmoniously with the musicians that played and sang while public performers joined in and danced the night away. The streets were so filled with people that it made the trip to Telma's Inn excruciatingly slow.

Many of the city's shops and stores were closed for the night, but street vendors had set up their stands and were now in the process of selling their own wares. Most of what they had to offer consisted of hot festival food ready to be devoured, as well as carnival games that were sure to be rigged, but a great deal of the stands also presented strange oddities, most of them unavailable from the typical stores; voodoo heads, supposed spell books, misshapen mirrors, distorted dolls, lucky charms,  _un_ lucky charms, even animals of the most obscure species were presented on display for all the people of Hyrule to gaze eerily upon and buy.

Lining the streets were slim, multiple-storied villas, with shuttered windows that held boxed flowers, and colorful roofs that overlooked the wide stone-paved roads. Rows of lamps bordering the streets brightly lit up the city, and though the sky above was pitch black, the people of Hyrule living together underneath that sky glowed beautifully in the light of the lamps.

"Link!" Malon gasped, taking it all in. "Look at all this! I've never seen so many people in one place before!"

She, along with all the sites, sounds, and smells of the urban jungle, were ignored. Mounted on Epona and keeping her steady to prevent anymore accidents, Link rode alongside the cart while deep in thought, oblivious to the life surrounding him and too full of his own thoughts.

" _What is wrong with me? I thought I could do something to help, but I just get beaten up for it, like I always do. It's not fair! Why am I so weak?"_

Talon stopped the cart in front of a tall building, where an elderly man with male pattern baldness wrung his hands. Talon climbed down from the cart and addressed the man.

"We'll be stayin' a few days. We got our cart and three horses."

In a raspy voice, the old man replied, "Come through the back door."

They drove around to the opposite side of the building where the cart could be safely parked. The man explained his lack of stalls for the horses, and that two of them would have to share, so it was quickly and automatically decided that Epona would be given a stall of her own while the other two horses would be put together. Link removed Epona's saddle and led her into the dusty stall, where she sneezed bruskly.

" _I know, girl. it's not the best, but it certainly isn't the worst, either."_

As Link gently closed the stall, Epona turned around and hung her head out the gate, snorting at him.

" _See you tomorrow, Epona."_

He stroked her nose, but nearly stumbled when she shoved her heavy head onto his good shoulder, so instead he wrapped his arms around her neck.

"I think she's trying to tell you something."

Link saw Malon standing next to him. She was gently petting Epona's cheek.

"And I bet it's the same thing I'm going to tell you. Don't feel so bad, Link. We're in Hyrule City, the place we've dreamed about since we were kids! Getting into the city ended up being a drag, but I know tomorrow will be way better. I promise!"

Malon patted Link's shoulder and smiled sweetly. Although he attempted to return the smile, he had to force it.

"Come on. Dad's leaving, so we better hurry."

Link pet Epona one last time before following Malon out of the stable to join Talon, Sir Raven, and their luggage.

"Let's get the bags, kids. The inn ain't too far from here."

Malon reached down to grab the heavier of the two suitcases, but before she could, Link lifted it up with the hand of his previously dislocated shoulder.

"Link! Be careful, please. I may have set your arm back, but I can't work miracles."

Link just grinned sheepishly and swung the bag easily over his shoulder. But that grin was fake too, for though he hadn't unset his arm, it sure felt like he did.

" _This doesn't hurt! This doesn't hurt at a- ow ow ow ow!"_

He walked ahead, following Talon as he led the way to the inn, before she could see the pain he wore on his face. In spite of his efforts, he didn't fool Malon for a minute.

"I swear, Link," she mumbled under her breath. "You're such a butthead…"

Going to the inn on foot was even more difficult that it had been on carriage. People typically made way, out of for courtesy and for fear of being trampled, to allow large-wheeled carts to maneuver down the street, but now they pushed against one another from the sheer number of travelers and citizens clogging the roads. Even so, the family and their escort made their way south through the city until they turned down a narrow alley.

There were no lamps down this way, and the tight path was enveloped by tall buildings on either side, so in the darkness, the four walked in a single file line, squeezing through with their suitcases. They only had to walk a short distance before a gap appeared in the alley, revealing several cases of stairs leading down into an open square.

"This way," Talon directed.

They followed him down the stairs and across the square until they were walking through another alley, thankfully not quite as narrow, and instead of the buildings being on either side of them, they were now walking  _underneath_ them.

"This is so cool!" Malon whispered.

"Here we are," Talon announced.

In front of them stood a wooden tavern door, and a sign next to it reading, "Telma's Bar and Inn."

"Dad! You better not have brought us here so you can drink again!"

"No I didn't. Telma's a good friend ah mine. She'll give us a good deal on a room fer the night."

"But you're still gonna drink, aren't you?"

Talon pulled the door open without answering Malon. The noise and clatter from inside erupted out the moment the door creaked open.

"Sounds like it's busy tonight," remarked Raven.

"Sure doez," Talon agreed. "I hope she's got a room left for us."

Malon glared angrily at her father as they entered the tavern. Every table and booth was crammed full of grown men chugging alcohol to their heart's content, telling jokes and laughing jovially, some of them even taking up drinking songs. A few of them were knights on break like Raven, but most of them had the same general appearance of Talon.

"Talon!" The bartender called in her husky, yet sweet voice. "I was wonderin' when you'd get here, honey."

Talon approached the bar and sat at the stool closest to the barkeeper, a friendly smile peeking out from his mustache.

"Hey there, Telma. How's my favorite lady?"

Link, Malon, and Raven all took seats at the bar next to Talon. Telma was a big woman, wearing a revealing cardigan, an under-laying blouse and a long skirt, with a busty chest and giant muscular arms. She knew her way around the bar, and could hold her own against any man, drunk or not. Her braided, rusty red hair was pulled back into a tight tail with a bandana. In spite of her rugged appearance, her manner was hearty and happy, and though she was strictly on business, she looked as though she was having just as much fun as her customers.

One of the men sitting at the tables was laughing so hard at a joke his friend told that he fell out of his chair, spilling a mug of beer all over his face and shirt. Everyone in the bar laughed, including Telma. Her laugh instantly brought so much joy into the bar that the collapsed man, in his drunken embarrassment, couldn't help but laugh alongside everyone else.

"Hey, Raven," Telma greeted. "We don't see you in here very much anymore."

"Work has been a pain lately, what with everything going on. A lot of us are being restationed, and I'm pretty sure I'll be next soon enough."

"Well if that happens, then we'll be sure to throw you a goodbye party, right boys?!"

The men in the tavern all raised their mugs and yelled, "Hear hear!" Everyone in the bar laughed, including Talon and Malon.

Link smiled and rested his chin on his hand, leaning on the bar. At that moment his shoulder slumped out and his arm gave way, his face falling and hitting the bar.

" _Ow."_

"Link! I told you to be careful with that suitcase! Now we'll have to take you to a doctor!" Malon turned toward him and once again went to work resetting his arm.

"Ahh, these must be your wonderful children you're always talking 'bout, eh darlin'?"

"Sure are. This is ma daughter, Malon, and ma son, Link."

"Link, huh? I've always liked that name," Telma smiled warmly at him. "I think I know why your da's always talkin' about you. You are more handsome than any man I've ever met, son, and you've got a good pair of eyes, too."

"Hey, what about me?" whined Malon.

"I know your dad talks about you even more. Says your every bit as firey as I am. And jus' look at you! You're prettier than an apple blossom in full bloom! Why if I was 20 years younger, I bet we'd be twins! Look at us, Talon!"

Telma leaned forward next to Malon, putting her face next to hers.

"Don't we look like twins?"

"Like peas in a pod."

They laughed, and Raven stood up from his seat.

"Well, my job is done for now. I must leave."

"Aw, stay for a while," said Telma, feigning a broken-hearted tone. "You're on break, ain'tcha? Have a drink."

"I wish I could, but I have to get back."

"Are you gonna keep looking?" asked Malon.

"I beg your pardon?" Raven answered, confused.

"That other knight asked how your search was going, so I was just wondering if that's what you were gonna do."

"Oh yes, that."

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, what are you looking for?"

Raven looked at her thoughtfully, then to Link, and finally to Telma.

"Maybe I will stay a while, ma'am," he finally said.

"I told you! Call me Telma."

Raven laughed and answered, "Yes ma'am."

"Let me bring you men a couple of drinks."

Suddenly, the noise of glass breaking clashed through the bar, and the splintering of wood quickly followed.

"Hey!" Telma barked roughly. "You keep your fool hands to yourself!"

She moved from behind the bar to resolve the scuffle on the other side of the tavern, saying to them as she left, "You better not hold your breath on those drinks." A group of men on the other side of the bar called Talon's name, so he moved from his seat to join them.

"There," Malon said as she finished setting Link's arm once again. "Although knowing you, it probably won't last long. I brought a first aid kit with us though, so maybe we can wrap your arm up and keep it together until we get you to a doctor."

" _Seriously? I don't get hurt that much, do I?"_

"Don't even give me that look. You get hurt so much that sometimes it's a wonder you're still in one piece. Now take off your shirt."

" _What?! Why?!"_

Malon laid one of the suitcases on the bar and opened it up, digging through until she found the kit.

"Link, take off your shirt so I can bandage your arm."

" _Here?! Right now?! No way!"_

"I can't do it through your clothes, and we have to do it now so your arm has a chance to recover. It would be easier if we had a sling for you, but we don't. Actually, you better let me do it so you don't throw your arm out in the process."

Link groaned and sat in agony as Malon removed his shirt, his face bright red. A couple of hoots came from the men in the bar.

"A lady's man, eh?!" One of the men shouted, and everyone shrieked with laughter.

" _This is humiliating…"_

"Hey, you," Malon directed to Raven. "Weren't you gonna tell us what you're looking for?"

"You really are a lot like Telma. Every bit as firey as she is."

"I can't help it if that's the way I am," she pouted as she began wrapping Link's arm with gauze.

"Anyways," Raven began by reaching into his shirt and pulling out a golden chain and locket.

"I'm looking for them."

He opened the locket, revealing a tiny, black and white picture of three people: a tall man with dark hair and eyes and sharp Hylian ears had his arms wrapped happily around a smiling woman. She had sharp ears like her counterpart, but her hair was lightly-colored. Her eyes were closed as she laughed gaily, and in her arms was a giggling infant, wrapped in a blanket and clapping his tiny fingers.

"The man you see in the picture is my brother, and that's his wife and son."

"What happened to them?"

"They disappeared during the last raid on Hyrule City, 16 years ago."

" _Wow..."_

"You're still looking for them, even after all this time?

"It's a long story. The short version is that I was jealous of my brother for a long time, but when he and his family went missing, it broke my heart, and I realized what a terrible person I'd been, so I've been looking for them eve- well, in all honesty, I'm actually looking more for my nephew than I am my brother or sister-in-law."

"How come?"

"I can't really explain why. I've kept a careful eye out for all three of them, but for some reason my gut keeps telling me that I outta be looking more for my nephew than I should be my brother or his wife. I can't help but feel as though they're dead, but the boy is out there somewhere."

" _But..."_

"That must be hard," Malon finished Link's thought. "You've spent so many years looking for your family. Doesn't it hurt to do that?"

"You certainly aren't afraid to ask the more personal questions, are you?"

"I hope you don't mind."

"I don't, at least not so much from you. It  _is_ quite a burden as you say, but in all honesty, the idea of giving up hurts more than the constant wondering of where my brother is, or if he's even alive."

"…I see." Malon turned attentively to Link.

Link stared at the bar counter that he leaned on, grimacing at no one. He wished Malon hadn't asked, and had just let Raven leave, instead of dragging out his long unwelcome presence.

" _I don't like him. Not one bit."_

"You know, Link never knew his parents."

Link whipped toward Malon.

" _Don't tell him that!"_

"His real ones anyway."

"Is that so?" Raven asked blankly.

"Yeah, when I was just a kid and too young to remember, we found Link, just a ba-"

"No offense," he interrupted. "But I'll have to stop you there. The reason being that it is not your story to tell."

He pointed one finger in Link's direction.

"And it seems the one to whom the story belongs would rather it not be told."

Malon looked up from bandaging Link's arm to notice his irritation, and frowned.

"In any case, I'm sure my story has bored you. It  _is_ indeed time for me to take my leave; I've overstayed my welcome."

"Thank you, Sir Raven."

"Give my regards to Telma when she gets back."

Raven stood from his seat and took two steps toward the door before stopping to look at Link.

"I know we did not meet under the most desirable of circumstances, but I hope you will regard me kindly anyways, as I do you."

" _Whatever."_

"Good night, everyone."

In long strides, Raven marched quietly toward the entrance and opened the tavern door wide, closing it gently behind him.

"Here, I'm finished. You can put your shirt back on now."

Malon gave Link the top half of his tunic, and he reclothed.

"Just be careful with it, please?"

"… _Yeah."_

Link leaned forward on the bar, cupping his face in both of his fists and frowning. He felt something soft touch his shoulder, and realized it was Malon's hair. She leaned gently on his shoulder.

"Today really sucked, didn't it?"

" _You're tellin' me."_

"We finally get to Hyrule, and those stupid guards had to be jerks to you."

" _Please don't remind me."_

"But we're here now, so we should definitely spend time having as much fun as possible! Let's make sure we get all that milk sold so we can explore the city tomorrow!"

Link smiled.

" _Sounds good…"_

"And if you want, we can stop by the archives in the Temple of Time and search for your parents a little bit too."

"… _Wait, what?"_

He turned wide-eyed to Malon. She knew him well, but how did she have possibly figure him out  _this_ time? And so quickly, too!

"I started wondering why you brought that icky piece of cloth with you when you showed it to the guard at the gatehouse, but I didn't figure it out until Sir Raven told us that story about his brother. You want to find your parents in the city, don't you Link?"

" _Well I, uh…that is…yeah…"_

He conceded, putting his palm to his face.

"You can't hide nothin' from me," She laughed and gently punched his shoulder. She then thought to herself, "If only that were true." Link laughed voicelessly along with her.

"You don't like Sir Raven very much, do you?"

He shook his head.

"Otherwise you would've let me tell him about your parents, and then we could've asked for help."

Link nodded, and Malon sighed.

"You really are a man, aren't you? You won't ask for help from others when you really need it, you think you can handle it all by yourself, and that's why you didn't even tell me you were bringing your name with you. But there's no way I'm letting my brother go through all the trouble of finding his parents all by himself! I'm gonna help you whether you like it or not, you hear?"

Link merely glanced at Malon with an eyebrow raised, then burst into silent laughter.

"What?! What's so funny?!"

He suddenly rested his head on her shoulder and took her hand in his.

"…You're stupid, you know that?"

" _Yeah…I know…"_

Malon leaned her head on top of Link's, covered their clasped hands with her other hand, and smiled. Another ring of hoots came from the customers in the bar.

"He's my brother, you idiots!" Malon yelled back angrily at them.

The two sat peacefully that way until Telma returned.

"Hey, where'd Raven go?"

"He left," replied Malon.

"Well, darn. I was hopin' to get him to tell us one of his war stories. Oh well. Where'd your dad go, sweetie?"

"He's over there," she spoke exasperatingly, pointing to Talon's location. He was in the process of chugging down his third pint of beer while the surrounding men egged him on.

"Ahh, jus' look at em," Telma laughed. "It does me good to see my customers have rip-roaring time, especially with the bad times coming."

Malon grumbled under her breath. No one heard what she said, but Telma could guess.

"Of course, it probably ain't easy watching your father behave that way, is it darlin'?"

"Of course not!" snapped Malon. "Just look at him! He's acting like a common drunken idiot! And this isn't the first time either; I caught him binge-drinking three times this week! And I've had to wake him up in the morning  _four_ times this week, only to have him yell at me because he has a hangover! He makes me so mad!"

"Now calm down, honey," soothed Telma. "I know exactly how you feel. Men are more trouble than they'll ever be worth."

"You got that right," Malon rolled her eyes.

" _Hello? I'm right here."_

"Let me tell you something about men, Malon."

Telma picked up the empty mugs from the bar and moved them behind the counter. Taking a dish rag, she began wiping each one down, one by one."

"No matter what we do as women, no matter how much we'll try to keep our men, whether they're our husbands or our fathers, or our brothers for that matter," Telma smiled sneakily at Link and winked. "There's not a whole lot we can do for 'em. They'll pretty much do what they damn well please, and it's the same for good  _and_ bad men, mind you. For example…"

Telma moved the wiped down mug in her hand onto the shelf behind her and picked up the next one. Malon leaned forward and listened attentively to her words of feminine wisdom.

"Let's say someday you end up marryin' a knight in the army, and every day as part of his job he has to go out and kill as many moblins as he can find. Moblins of course aren't the nicest creatures, and there's a big chance your husband could die any day while on the job."

"I'd never marry someone like that!" Malon detested. "I'd go nuts with worry."

"Exactly," Telma continued. "As a wife, the fear of your husband dyin' and losin' your means of support would be overwhlemin'. You'd probably beg him not to go do such dangerous things, beg him to get a different job, right?"

"Right?"

"Wrong. No matter how many times you beg him or get mad at him or give him puppy-dog eyes, chances are there's no way in hell your husband will ever quit his job."

"Why are they like that?"

" _I'm still right here!"_

"They're stubborn mules, girl, and the worst part is that we can't break them, because if we did, then they really wouldn't be worth havin' around. They always think they know what's best, and though they're right some of them time, we as women are usually the ones savin' their butts."

" _Oh please."_

"As a woman, no matter how you try to keep the men in your life in line, you just gotta learn to let them do what they like, or else they'll drag you by the leash you got 'em on. While we might not understand it, there's almost always a reason behind their actions."

Telma distinctly looked Talon's way, and Malon followed her gaze.

"So…my dad isn't drinking like an idiot just because he feels like it?"

"Every man I've ever met likes a good drink, sweetie, but no man I've ever met downs that much alcohol unless he's having way too good of a time, or something's the matter with them, and from what you told me, I'd say it's the latter."

"So something's bothering him, then…"

Malon sighed, and stared off into the distance before suddenly snapping forward.

"Oh, Telma! I know this is off topic, but my dad will never get around to asking, so I might as well do it. Do you have any rooms left? We'll be in the city for a few days, and we need a place to stay."

"I've got lots of rooms, hun," Telma chuckled. "Everyone comes here to drink, but no one comes here to sleep because the drinkers are so rowdy, and these walls are practically paper-thin."

"Do you have one with three beds by any chance?"

"Sadly, no. All our rooms are singles or doubles. I can show you a room and bring up a cot for you if you like."


	11. Ordona 10: Telma's Inn

The room was presented, but the cot never came. Talon's snores rumbled loudly out of his throat while Malon slept soundlessly, her chest rising and falling as she breathed. Both of them were sleeping on either bed while Link lied on the floor underneath a thick wool blanket.

When they came up to the room, Link and Malon had to carry Talon up the stairs away from his drinks. He crash-landed on one of the beds, and the two teenagers were left to decide who would take the other.

"No way, Link! You need it more. You're the one with the dislocated shoulder."

Link tilted his head at her toward the bed.

"I'd rather not sleep on the floor, and I definitely don't want to sleep with Dad, but you need the bed more than I do, and after what we went through today you deserve it."

Link furrowed his eyebrows and pointed to the bed.

"For the last time, you're taking that bed, and that's final!"

Malon gave up after half an hour of one-sided arguing. Declaring that all men were useless, she threw herself on the bed and grumbled until she fell asleep. Link's habitual sleeping in the forest had given him a strong back, if nothing else, and made his spot on the comparably soft wooden floor especially comfortable. It was certainly much nicer than the limp and sweaty mattresses the others slept on, yet Link tossed and turned restlessly, mindful of his arm and angry at himself.

It must have been late. Even the customers downstairs had quieted almost completely, which was abnormal considering the fast-approaching New Year. The church bells chimed from the far off Temple of Time, playing three weary song notes and repeating them, then ringing twice.

" _Great, it's already two in the morning."_

He threw off the blanket and stood. The room's accommodations were by no means first-class. Telma had been too right about the transparent walls; a deliberate thumping noise came from the room next to theirs. The curtains, rug, paintings, and comforters were worn thin, their gaudy floral patterns having faded into imprints of what they once were. The wallpaper was well in the process of peeling away. Even though the scent of air freshener wafted through the room, so too did the stench of ammonia and second-hand smoke, and it was only now that Link noticed the pungency. The air freshener conglomerating with the after hand smoke and sharp cleaner created such a wave that as soon as Link got to his feet, the horrible smell filled his nostrils and he reached for his nose.

" _I need air."_

Link moved for the door and took care not to slam it behind him. He headed into the hallway and down the stairs that led to the first floor. On the first floor in the now emptied bar, Telma worked behind the counter while four other figures all huddled around a table in the corner, speaking in hushed voices. The first was an elderly man with dark, age-spotted skin, graying facial hair, and a cold expression. His outfit resembled that of miner's. The second figure was a slim young woman sporting thick black hair and eyelashes, with drooping eyes and pale skin. Her body was clad in thin form-fitting armor, not at all like that of the Royal Knights. The third was a man in his mid-twenties. A healthy layer of dirt covered his body and clothes. His light brown hair was cut neatly and small-rimmed glasses decorated his face. The final figure was unidentifiable. Ze wore a black heavy cloak, and spoke in a rough, sweet tone that carried through the room.

Telma addressed them, "Would any of like a drink while we chat? How 'bout you, Auru?"

The older of the two gentlemen gruffly replied, "Not tonight," and refused to elaborate. He barely budged when the woman in armor suddenly slapped her hand on the table.

"I'll take that offer ah yours, Telma, but nunna that watered-down crap!"

"Comin' right up, Ashei!"

The spectacled young man pushed his glasses up disapprovingly.

"Such nerve to behave this way in front of our guest."

"Says the guy who can't even take a bath before he gets here!" Ashei retorted. "I might not mind my P's and Q's, but at least I'm presentable, yeah?"

"How about you, Shad?"

The man with glasses answered, "No, thank you," then turned to the hooded figure.

"Would you care for a drink, Adelz?"

"No, but I thank you for the offer."

"No offense, but that's not the most creative name," Ashei said bluntly. From underneath zis hood, the figure smiled.

"It doesn't have to be creative, so long as it keeps me out of trouble. I fear more for those of you who refuse pseudonyms."

Telma approached the table with Ashei's beer in hand. She didn't bother setting it on the table, but instead handed it to her.

"I ain't scared!" Ashei proclaimed while taking the beer. "I hope when we're done, everyone knows my name! You guys are no fun."

She then downed the beer in one long draw, and belched loudly.

"Don't you have anything stronger?"

"If I gave you anything stronger, it would have to be horse tranquilizer!"

"I beg your pardon," Adelz spoke. "It's only thanks to Paim that I made it here tonight, but I haven't as much time as I would like. The guards will notice my absence any minute."

"Let's get started then," Auru replied sternly, looking toward Ashei. "Let's not waste any  _more_ of our precious time, if you don't mind."

"Whatever."

She slammed the empty mug on the table and sat between Auru and Shad, leaning back in her chair.

"So what's in the report today,  _'Adelz?'"_

"I'm afraid there isn't much of anything to report as of yet. We're keeping our eyes open, but there's been nothing going on in the kingdom, or in the surrounding provinces."

"You've been keeping an eye on that Agahnim character though, yeah?"

"I have, but my investigations have led me nowhere. I can't find a single bad mark in his records, no matter where I search."

"I don't blame ya for checkin'. Something about that guy's real fishy, and I don't mean his breath."

Ashei waved her hand emphatically in front of her nose.

"What about the Gerudo?" asked Shad. "Did you ever find out what happened to them?"

"We did, or rather not," ze responded gravely.

"What do you mean?"

"They've been more than just quiet; we haven't heard word from them for months. They were not present during the previous Provincial Gathering, so we attempted making contact through magical means, but to no avail."

"That doesn't sound good," murmured Auru, putting his closed fist to his chin.

"I'm afraid the mystery doesn't end there. After long-distance communication failed, we sent ambassadors to the Eldin Province to reestablish contact."

Adelz paused until Ashei finally replied, "And? What'd ya find?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Absolutely nothing. The fortress, their farms, their adobe villas, their temple, everything was gone."

"Gone? Gone how? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Do you mean it was destroyed?"

"If only that had been the case, no offense to the Gerudo. If it had been, there would be ruins of their city or the like, but I'm afraid that's not the case. Everything that belonged to the Gerudo in the Eldin Province has disappeared without a trace. There wasn't so much as a speck of rock to be found anywhere."

"Do you think they could be planning to rebel again?"

"Even if they were, it wouldn't explain why they suddenly vanished, along with all their homes and possessions."

"That  _is_ a mystery."

"Looks like it's going to be a rather interesting year, isn't it?"

"Which year is it, by the way?" Ashei asked.

"The coming year," Shad announced. "Will be the Ordonian Wolf."

"Just a few more years and it'll be my turn again. All hail the Horon Snow Leopard!"

"Speaking of interesting," Telma grinning, grinning. "Remember that boy of Talon's that Rusl won't stop talking about?"

"How could we forget?" Shad laughed. "You'd think he was his son or something, the way he goes on about him."

"He's here in the inn, tonight."

"Eh?" Ashei sat upright and looked at Telma. "That kid Rusl fawns all over? Don't tell me he's as great as he makes him out to be."

"I was in the same boat as you. You'd think he was either in love with the kid, or nuts, or probably both. I thought that, or at least I did before I met him tonight."

"What was your take on him?"

"He's everything Rusl said and more. The kid didn't notice it, but the moment he walked in, people were starin' at him up and down, as if Princess Zelda herself just walked into the bar. He's got the look of a blue-eyed beast, all right, and I'd bet this whole bar that that kid is-"

Telma's speech halted when a nearby door handle jiggled and twisted open. Link pushed the door open from the other side and drifted across the bar halfheartedly, paying no attention to the fact that his presence had quieted the whole room. He walked as a ghost floats, his naked feet barely scraping the floor's surface, his bright blue eyes wide open as he absently scratched his scalp and turned the knob of the door leading out of the tavern. Link went out, leaving the entire bar hushed behind him.

"What the hell was that?!" Ashei gasped.

"Ashei," Shad laughed nervously. "If there's one thing you know how to do, it's break the ice."

"What was what?" Auru said gruffly. He spoke as if he knew nothing, but his body was rigid and his face was pale.

"That! That thing that kid did! I don't know what it was, but it put me on my guard so fast, I nearly jumped up and sliced him open! It was like a demon, but also a god just walked into the room!"

"Should I assume that was the boy in question, Telma?"

The slender, bandaged fingers of Adelz's hands peaked out from underneath zis cloak. They were shaking visibly.

"Sure was," Telma replied with a twinkle in her eye. "It wasn't exactly a formal meeting, but now you know how it felt when I met that kid."

"Good lord," Shad trembled, his hands clutching at his knees. "No wonder Rusl talks about him all the time."

"How in the world," asked Adelz, "Did you manage to retain your composure when you first met him?"

"To be honest, I haven't a clue. He's the first customer I have  _ever_ had to fake hospitality with, and that's sayin' something. If I like 'em, I welcome 'em with open arms, and if I don't, I kick 'em to the curb. You all know that about me, but he was different. When he first walked in, such a chill ran up my spine that at first, I couldn't even talk. And when I finally buckled down and started talkin' to him, the whole time it felt like I was gonna faint."

"Did he say anything?" demanded Ashei. "What did he say?! Didn't he tell you anything?!"

"Not a word."

"I gotta talk to him!"

Ashei sprang to her feet, but tripped on one of the table's legs. Auru caught her before she fell flat on her face.

"Whoa there, girl. Hero or not, that boy had a look on his face that said, 'Do not disturb.' You'd best leave him alone."

"Oh, please! I don't care about 'the looks on peoples' faces!'"

Ashei emphasized the last part of her statement, doing a mock imitation of Auru's voice.

"I gotta meet him and be sure!"

"Stop."

Ashei halted in her tracks.

"Last I have heard, the Master Sword was still in its pedestal in the Temple of Time. If that boy is indeed the one meant to wield it, then talking to him now, as you wish to, will do more damage than we could ever hope to fix. Please stay here, Ashei."

Ashei stood with her back to the others as Adelz passed zis commandment to her. Silence descended on the bar. Ashei stood silently for a long time before turning on her heel and returning to her seat.

"This will indeed require a bit of investigation," Adelz explained. "And I'll start with you, Telma, since of the five of us you know him the best."

"I only met the boy tonight, Adelz."

"I understand, but please answer my questions the best you can."

"I'll try, but I won't promise anything."

"First of all…"

* * *

As soon as Link exited the bar, he walked back toward the piazza that led to the inn. He crossed the plaza and lied down at the base of the stairs. With the buildings blocking his view, he could only see a patch of the night sky above. The stars shrank away and hid from the bright lights of the city. The sounds of the city still ran late into the night. Link could see the streets from the other side of the alley, and they were still overflowing with city-goers and visitors from all over the continent. The festival music played so loudly he wondered why he hadn't heard it from their room.

" _I hate this place."_

He took his ocarina from his pocket, and played a soft note. It was familiar to him, so he followed it with the next note, and the next one, and the next until he was playing a whole song.

" _Wow, I haven't played this song in years. I must've forgotten all about it. But…"_

His song warbled on the last few notes as he finished.

" _I can't remember where I learned it…"_

Link lifted the instrument to his lips again, but only played the first note of the same song, when his ocarina suddenly bashed forward into his mouth, hitting the gums above his front teeth.

" _Gah!"_

The taste of iron quickly followed. He moved the ocarina away and put two fingers to the inflicted area inside his mouth. When he brought them back, he saw and felt a dark wet spot on his fingertips. His irritation spurted as he rose to his feet.

" _Who's there?!"_

He looked and saw no one in the darkness. In anger, he spat out the blood from his mouth.

"Hey!"

A sudden tiny female voice shook as it screamed angrily at Link, and made him jump. He looked again but still saw no one.

"Didn't you learn any manners?! No one wants to see your disgusting spit, much less be drenched in it!"

" _Wh-where are you?"_

"Hello? Are you blind?! I'm down here!"

Link looked down, and his eyes popped. A tiny girl, no bigger than his thumb and glowing bright blue, was flinging her arms and legs.

"Oh!" She groaned. "So gross!"

" _A-ah…ah…"_

Link's mouth dropped at the sight of the girl, and dropped even more when he noticed the dragonfly wings sprouting from her back.

"EW! It's even in my hair!"

She lifted her hands to wring out her hair, then stopped short.

"B-b-b-b-blood! It's blood!"

At this realization, she jumped up and down as if she were dancing on hot coals.

"GET IT OFF! Get if off, get it off, get it off, get it off!"

She peered up angrily at the dumb-founded Link.

"Don't just stand there, you idiot! Do something! This is your fault, after all!"

" _What_ are  _you?!"_

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

" _You're tiny!"_

"I'm still growing! I'll get bigger… I hope. What do you mean, 'what am I?'"

" _B-but you're glowing! And you have wings!"_

"Well don't you know a fairy when you see one?!"

" _A fairy?"_

"Yes, a fairy! Now quit gawking at me and take me someplace where I can get cleaned!"

" _A fairy…"_

Link fell back and sat on the bottom stair. What he read in fairy tales and children stories, what he'd thought of as nothing more than a fantasy, was standing right before him. Granted, he'd accidentally spit blood all over her and she was rightfully angry at him for it, but still! A fairy of all things!

"Are you listening? Don't you humans have a place where you can go to wash?"

Link moved toward the tiny pixie, but she staggered back.

"Whoa there!" She cried. "What do you think you're doing?"

" _Um… taking you where you can get cleaned?"_

"Where, may I ask?"

" _Inside, over there."_

He pointed to indicate the inn, but from their position it looked more like a dark cave. The fairy opened her eyes wide in fear.

"Oh no! You're not taking me down a dark alley where you can do strange things to me! No way, Jose!"

" _What? But I-"_

"You know what? Forget it! You've done enough, and I'm busy as it is! It's been nice meeting you, not!"

She jumped into the air away from Link, but her blood and spit soaked wings were too heavy for her, ao she came crashing down flat on her bare tummy.

" _Um… are you okay?"_

She lied silently on the ground for a long time. Link was ready to scoop her up into his hand and force her into the inn anyway when he noticed her tiny shoulders quivering. She peeled herself off the ground and cupped her face into her hands as giant, sparkling tears rolled out of her eyes.

" _Huh?!"_

"I'm sorry," she cried. "I'm not mad at you, even though you spit blood on me. I know you didn't do it on purpose. I'm just so tired, and I can't think straight! I've been flying as fast as I can for four days straight! I'm hungry! I want to sleep, and now I'm disgusting! I miss Saria, and I wanna go home! This is the worst day ever!"

She wiped her eyes with her naked arm as she wailed, but a bell rang in Link's mind.

" _Saria?"_

"Yeah. She's my friend, but you don't know her."

_"Yes I do."_

"Don't lie! You're just trying to trick me, aren't you?"

" _No really! I know her… or at least I think I do. That name sounds so familiar. Why can't I remember?"_

"Look, I have to go. I already told you I'm busy. I have to find the person that was playing that song."

" _Playing? A song? But why?"_

"Because, they were playing Saria's song. If I can find the person who was playing her song, then maybe they can help me. They've gotta be around here somewhere."

This time, instead of trying to fly, the fairy stood on her wobbly legs and began walking.

" _Wait! Come back!"_

The tiny fairy walked away so quickly that Link barely had time to grab his ocarina with his trembling hands and begin playing the song once more. The notes sprang from the tiny instrument to the fairy's ears, and made her stop short. She turned around and gaped at Link as he continued the sprightly song. When he noticed her angry eyes glaring at him, he stopped playing.

"… _Eh?"_

"YOU!"

She ran back and jumped Link. She didn't knock him over or make him wobble by any means, but she grabbed the collar of his shirt with her miniscule hands and stared him straight in the face.

"HOW DID YOU GET THAT SONG?! AND WHERE DID YOU FIND THAT OCARINA?!"

" _HUH?"_

"Saria only teaches that song to her very best friends! How do you know her?!"

" _I told you, I can't remember!"_

"Oh really? Then what about that ocarina? Saria told me she gave that ocarina to a boy she met in the Lost Woods a long time ago! How did you get it?! You stole it, didn't you?!"

" _No! I swear! I've never stolen anything in my life!"_

"Prove it!"

" _What?! How?"_

"Just prove it! You better start remembering or you'll have heck to pay!"

"What the- Navi?"

Link and the fairy stopped their arguing long enough to notice that a third voice had intervened on the conversation.

"Saria?!"

She released Link's shirt and whipped her head in all directions.

"Saria, where are you?!"

"Down here!"

She streaked over to where the forgotten ocarina laid on the ground, and knelt down next to it.

"Huh? Saria? How'd you get in there?"

The sound of a girl's light giggle came out the ocarina.

" _What in the world is going on?"_

Link rubbed his forehead.

" _This is a dream. It has to be."_

"You're silly, Navi," the voice explained. "I'm not  _in_ the ocarina. Whenever Link plays my song, he can talk to me whenever he likes."

"Link? Who's Link?"

"Hopefully, he's there right beside you."

"You can't possibly mean this idiot, Saria?"

"Hey you. Link's my friend, just like you are, Navi. I don't want you badmouthing my friends, just like I wouldn't let Link say anything bad about you. Be nice to him."

"…So that means…"

Navi turned to face Link.

"Then you  _do_ know Saria…"

"Speaking of saying things," Saria shifted the conversation. "Link, why haven't you said anything yet? You're awfully quiet."

At this point, Link had fallen flat on his buttocks and was staring at the fairy and the talking ocarina in wide-eyed wonder. When he was suddenly addressed, he stuttered.

" _Ah… I… uh…"_

"Hey you, I mean Link," Navi pointed at him. "When a girl talks to you, you should say something back. It's only polite."

"… _But I can't."_

"What? What do you mean you can't?"

" _I had an accident when I was younger. I lost my voice a long time ago."_

"Oh…"

Navi's irritation melted away with this new information.

"I guess that  _would_ explain things, wouldn't it?"

"What is it, Navi?" The ocarina asked.

"Link said he had an accident when he was just a kid, so he doesn't have a voice anymore."

"Goodness! What happened?"

" _A tree fell on me, and one of the branches pierced my throat."_

"He says a tree fell on him and it stabbed him in the throat."

"Oh my gosh! That sounds horrible! How does he look, Navi?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is he handicapped in anyway, like is he in a wheelchair, or using a cane?"

" _That's a weird thing to ask."_

"I don't know much about big people, but I couldn't even tell there was anything wrong with him until just now. He's got both his arms and legs, so I guess that even though he lost his voice, he's fine."

A sigh of relief came from the ocarina. Then, Saria continued.

"Navi, where have you been? I've looked high and low through the forest for you. Why are you with Link? Where  _are_  you guys?"

"We're here in Hyrule City."

"How did you get all the way out there?"

"I flew."

"But Hyrule City is so far away! Why are you there?"

"…I'm sorry, Saria," Navi's voice cracked. "But I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"The Great Deku Tree sent me here to look for someone, but I can't tell you anything else. He told me not to tell anyone. I'm really sorry."

A long silence came from the ocarina until finally Saria answered back.

"Ah, so that explains it."

"What? What do you mean, 'that explains it'?"

"It's nothing, Navi."

"You know something, don't you? Tell me!"

"It's all right," the ocarina giggled. "You'll find out for yourself."

"Huh?!"

"In the meantime, it's no coincidence that you found Link. He's a good friend who wouldn't let anyone down. If anyone can help you find who you're looking for, it's him, right Link?"

" _Wait, what?"_

"I don't know, Saria. This guy seems kinda unreliable if you ask me."

"Trust me, Navi. You're in good hands."

Navi grumbled, "Mmm, fine. I'll trust him, but only because you put in a good word."

"In that case, I'll leave you to it. Hyrule City is a big place, and it's going to be hard to find one person out of hundreds of thousands."

"Hu-hu-hu- _hundreds_  of th-th-th- _thousands_?!" Navi staggered back. "How am I going to find the Hero of Time out of so many people?!"

As soon as she finished her statement, she quickly clasped her hands over her mouth.

"Oops," she squeaked.

_"That's who you want to find?"_

"Darn it! I can't even do  _that_ right! The Great Deku Tree is gonna be so mad when he finds out that I told!"

"Calm down, Navi. No one here knows but us. You know I'd never tell a secret, and I know Link wouldn't tell either, even if he could. Then again, that depends on whether he decides to help you or not."

Before Link had a chance to gather his confused thoughts, Navi jumped up and grabbed him by his shirt collar once more.

"Please, Link! I'm begging you! There's no way I can find the Hero of Time all by myself in this huge place! I need your help! Please!"

"… _Okay."_

"Huh? You don't even wanna think about it? No excuses or nothing? Just  _'Okay'_?"

" _I_   _did accidentally spit blood all over you, so I guess I can help. Plus there's no way I can let you go into the city all by yourself. It's_   _a dangerous place for a little fairy."_

"I'm not that little!"

"Is it settled, then?" the ocarina asked.

"Yes. He says he'll help."

"I knew he would. You guys better get to it if you wanna find the Hero of Time, especially if the Great Deku Tree wants to talk to him, so I'll let you go."

"Wait! Saria, what if I need to talk to you again?"

"Don't worry, Navi. Anytime you or Link wants to talk to me, just play my song on his ocarina, and I'll be there. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay. Bye Saria, and thanks for helping."

"Don't thank me. Link's the one who's helping you. Speaking of which, before I go…Link?"

She paused before continuing.

"Thanks for calling. I know you lost your voice, but it was really good to hear from you again. I've missed you."

The ocarina went silent. The two both stared at it for a while before Link finally picked it up.

"So you'll really help me, then? No joke?"

" _I don't mind."_

"You just said yes so fast that I almost don't believe it. No one I know would've agreed to helping a stranger so quickly…"

Navi glared intently at Link.

"You're really weird, you know that?"

" _Eh?"_

"You're weird…but you're nice. Saria said your name is Link."

" _And she said yours is Navi."_

"Well then, it's nice to meet you, Link."

" _Likewise."_

"Now if you don't mind," Navi lifted up her hands. "Can you please take me someplace where I can get cleaned up, and maybe sleep or have a bite to eat?"

" _I'm still confused. Who's Saria? Why can't I remember her? And… Wait a minute! How can you hear me think?!"_

"It's a little late to be asking that last one, don't you think?"

" _Maybe, but still."_

"I can hear you because I'm a fairy, and most fairies can hear the thoughts of humans. I'm not very strong yet, but at least I can do that much."

"T _hen I guess I'll watch what I think around you."_

"I don't think that'll be much of a problem with you," Navi giggled. "If Saria says you're a good person, then Navi thinks you're a good person too."

Navi's giggle made Link blush, so he quickly changed the subject.

"… _What about Saria? If she's your friend, couldn't she hear me too?"_

"Maybe if she were a fairy like me, but she's not. Saria is a Kokiri."

" _A what?"_

"That means she's a child of the forest."

" _Child…of the…forest…"_

Images began springing into Link's mind. He saw himself running through the forest in the night, taking twists and turns and gasping for breath until he came into a meadow. There in the meadow, was where she waited: a girl so green and alive that she looked like she would meld with the tree she sat on. She was playing a tiny oblong instrument, the one he now held in his hand, and Link recognized the song that sang from its holes.

" _I remember…"_

"What was that?"

" _I remember Saria!"_

"It's about flippin' time. You ought to remember your own friends."

" _It's really vague, but I can see when we met. It was so long ago."_

"Well now that you remember her, you better make sure to talk to her as much as you can. Saria gets really lonely sometimes."

" _How come?"_

"She's got all the Koroks to play with, and all the forest fairies like me, but Saria doesn't know anybody else."

" _Aren't there other Koriki for her to play with?"_

"They're called Kokiri, and that's the sad part. There aren't any Kokiri left. Saria's the last one. The fairies, Korok, and the Great Deku Tree are all she has now."

" _The last…one? Wow…I wish I'd known."_

Link sat down and stared hard at the ground. He'd barely had a chance to get to know the girl he'd met in the woods, and yet she clearly thought well enough of him to considered him a friend. She must've waited all that time, wanting to hear from him after they'd met. If circumstances had allowed it, Link would've played his ocarina and talked with her all she liked, but he hadn't, and he couldn't. The thought of her sitting and waiting for someone who would never be able to call; the thought drove a guilty stake straight into Link's heart.

" _Dang. I really wish I'd known…"_

"Hey, it's not your fault you never talked to her before, right? She didn't know you don't have a voice, so even if you tried, she wouldn't have been able to hear you."

" _I guess."_

Link gently scooped Navi up in his hands.

" _Still, she must've been lonely."_

"I just got done saying she had all the fairies and Korok, didn't I? It's not like she was totally abandoned, but if you feel that badly about it, then you can make up for lost time by talking to her now as much as possible. By the way, what happened to your hand?"

" _I got into a fight with one of the soldiers here and dislocated my shoulder."_

"If your shoulder's hurt, why do you have your hand wrapped up?"

She pointed at the wrappings around his left hand.

" _Oh, that's something else. That's where I-"_

"…What? That's where you what?"

'Saw those three triangles,' was what Link nearly thought, but stopped himself just in time. Even after he'd first seen them, he still felt an utter desire to protect the mark on his hand. To explain exactly what they were would be more trouble than it was worth.

"… _Um, never mind."_

"Fine. So where are we going?"

" _In there. We can get you cleaned up, and maybe get some food, too."_

"All righty. Let's go!"

Link cradled Navi in his hand as he made his way back to the tavern. He placed his hand on the door handle and pulled it open, only to run headlong into the person on the other side.

" _Oof!"_

"Ack!" Navi squeaked as she was smothered between Link and the other person. "Hey you! Watch where you're…going…"

Her voice trailed off as she and Link both found themselves staring straight into a pair of burning red eyes, which stared back without the slightest hesitation. Link gulped.

"I thank you for your hospitality," the figure replied, turning back to call to Telma.

"No problem, Adelz."

Adelz walked swiftly out of the bar, but not before giving Link one more intense glance. He and Navi watched as Adelz made zis way back to the alley.

"Geez," Navi whispered. "That guy was scary."

"Hey kid!"

Link turned back to the bar. Ashei was waving from her seat.

"Come sit with us!"

"Ashei," Shad grumbled. "Don't!"

"Come on!" she called. "Have a drink! The New Year's almost here!"

"What the-" Navi interrupted. "Where did he go?!"

Link looked back out of the bar and saw no trace of the shadowy figure.

_"How did he get away so fast?"_

"Hurry up!" Ashei called. "Don't be shy!"

"Ashei, please." Shad ground his fist into his forehead.

"You shut up, won't ya?! I'll talk to whoever I wanna! Besides, I won't say nothin'."

"Link," Navi whispered. "You can't seriously wanna sit with those guys."

_"If we do, I might be able to get some food for you."_

"Good idea," she whimpered, her tummy growling. Link made his way to the table where Ashei, Auru, and Shad sat, keeping Navi hidden in his hands.

"Have a seat!"Ashei welcomed him and yanked a chair out of the table with her foot, so Link sat.

"What you got there in your hands, son?" Auru asked gruffly.

"Hey you," Telma chuckled. "Leave the boy to his secrets."

"It's all right," Navi said, peaking her head out between Link's fingers. "I'm no secret."

"Whoa!" Shad jumped from his seat.

"It's a fairy!" Ashei cried, immediately leaning forward to get a closer look.

"Well aren't you a cutie?" Telma knelt down toward her.

"Hey! Don't make fun of me! I can put up a pretty decent fight!"

At her retort, the whole table laughed.

"She's feisty, too. I like her."

"She's also filthy," Shad noted as he pushed his glasses up. "If you don't mind me saying."

"Yes I am," Navi pouted. "Is there a place I can go to get washed?"

"There's a sink behind the counter over there," Telma pointed. "Help yourself."

Link carried Navi away from the table to the sink behind the counter. When he turned on its faucets, Navi gave a little shriek.

"What is that?!"

" _Um, it's a sink. You can use it to wash up in."_

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow at Link. She edged her foot into the sink, yanked it back from the feel of the magically appearing water, then jumped in, dancing and laughing.

"Yay! It's like a waterfall just for me!"

Suddenly, the tavern door slammed open.

"Telma!" a familiar voice called. "Get me and my boys some liquor, on the rocks!"

"Bar's closed," Telma barked angrily. "And you and your boys ain't welcome here, Wallace!"

" _Oh no. Not him!"_

"What's wrong, Link?" Navi asked, hearing his apprehensive thought.

" _That's the guy who dislocated my shoulder."_

"Not good. Maybe he won't see us."

" _Just keep quiet."_

Link did his best to make himself as small as possible while Wallace and four other knights barged into the tavern, taking seats at a neighboring table.

"I ain't in the mood tonight, bitch. You'll serve me if you know what's good for you."

"And you'll get the hell out if  _you_  know what's good for  _you_!"

"Just give us our drinks, lady," one of the other soldiers whined. "We didn't come here to make trouble. We just need a place to vent for a while."

"I don't give a damn why you're here! I refuse to give perfectly good food and drink to a bunch a' corrupted knights like you! We don't serve your kind here!"

"Telma, you'd better watch yourself," Wallace growled. "It'd be a shame if somethin' bad should happen to this fine establishment of yours."

"Back off!" Ashei rose from her seat. "She's the owner and she can serve whomever she damn well pleases! So why don't you do us all a favor an' leave?"

"Last time I checked, I didn't take orders from a Horon whore like you."

Shad had to use all his strength to hold Ashei back from killing him.

"WHY YOU BASTARD!" She screamed as she fought and clawed in Shad's arms. "I'LL MURDER YOU!"

"Ashei, stop!" Shad pleaded. "People upstairs are trying to sleep."

Wallace and the soldiers laughed at her reaction.

"Ya see that? She threatened to commit murder. Maybe we should go and report her."

Auru's voice interrupted abruptly.

"Telma, give the men their drinks."

"Auru, I appreciate your input almost all the time, but this ain't one a' those times. I refuse to-"

"Telma," he repeated. "Give the men their drinks."

"Do what the man says," another soldier smirked, but he was silenced when Auru set his hard gaze after him.

"…Fine."

Telma made no effort to hide her anger. Her feet thudded as she moved to the counter, where she grabbed glasses out of a cupboard and nearly broke them when she slammed them on the bar.

"One side, sweety," she said roughly to Link as she brushed him out of her way. He managed to duck away before getting trampled.

"Hey!" Wallace suddenly demanded.

" _Oh no!"_

"You're the little shit who gave us all this trouble in the first place! It's your fault we have extra duty during the holiday!"

" _Crap!"_

Link turned uneasily to face the puffed-up soldier, whose face had turned red in rage.

"Wait a second," Ashei interrupted. "You know him?"

"We whipped his ass just a few hours ago," a nameless soldier replied. "But then he ran crying to Raven and ratted us out."

_"Why you- Liar!"_

"There ain't no Raven to bail you out this time, you snot."

Wallace stood from the table, and the others followed suit.

"I say we finish what we started at the gate entrance."

"You sit your ass back in that chair!" Telma screamed. "Make one move toward him and I'll have you thrown out faster than you can believe!"

"Oh yeah?" One of the soldiers laughed. "You and what army?"

"That would be us."

The soldier turned around and saw himself standing face to face with Auru, who'd gotten out of his seat and was now looming over him. He stared angrily at the soldier, and cracked the knuckles of his callused and muscular hands. Ashei drew her sword and perched the dull end of the blade against the back of her neck, while resting her other hand on her hip.

"You wanna start somethin', little boy?" She said menacingly. "We'll see how well that turns out for you."

"You know what? Forget it," Wallace said, spitting on the floor. "I ain't drinkin' anything that snot-nosed brat's been near. This garbage dump can burn in hell, for all I care!"

He stomped toward the tavern entrance, and his goons followed after.

"You better not go anywhere by yourself, kid! Cause if you do, you'll go away with more than just a messed up shoulder!"

With that, Wallace slammed the door so hard the windows rattled. The noise made Link wince.

"Thank goodness they're gone," Shad sighed, slumping back down in his chair.

"Good riddance!" Navi jumped out of the sink. "I was just about to teach them a lesson!"

"Since your up, Telma," Ashei asked, "Would you mind getting us a few more drinks?"

"Ashei, for crying out loud!" Shad threw his arms in the air. "You have the sense of timing of a tree stump!"

"It's all right, Shad. I'd much rather bring you guys drinks any day."

She turned to Link and patted him on the shoulder.

"Sorry you had to deal with that, hon."

She stopped when she noticed him glaring furiously at no one.

"Telma?" Navi asked. "Is it okay if I have some food, too? I don't need much. A few crumbs here and there will fill me up."

"Sweetheart," Telma began as she filled the glasses. "You can have all the food you want. Go ahead an' sit at the table with the others."

"Yay!"

Link scooped her up in his hand and sat back at the table. He dumped her onto the tabled and cupped his chin in both hands.

"Hey!" Navi cried as she flopped down. "Be more careful, would you? My wings are still wet."

"Man!" Ashei rubbed her forehead. "What a night. Is this your first time in the city, kid?"

Link nodded.

"That sucks. Your first visit is supposed to be a dream come true, and here you are in a nightmare."

He nodded again.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

"He can't," Navi butted in. "He lost his voice when he was just a kid."

"Really? Geez, that's gotta suck!"

"That's right," Telma said from the other side of the room. "Talon said something like that earlier, and Rusl did, too."

Link whirled around to face Telma, and she answered the question she knew he would ask if he could.

"That's right," she said. "I know Rusl."

"We all do. He's one of us. I'm Ashei, by the way. You already know Telma, of course."

"Auru," the miner said gruffly.

"And the wise guy sitting over there is Shad."

"Can't I even introduce myself?"

"I'm Navi and that's Link, but you already know him. Who's this Rusl guy you mentioned?"

" _He's a blacksmith in Ordon Village. I'll tell you later."_

"Hmph," Navi grumbled, but she stopped when Telma came to the table carrying a cup of milk and a piece of bread, both several times larger than she was.

"Is  _THAT_  for  _ME_?! It's so big!"

"It's all for you, hon."

"I can't eat all this! It's too much! What's that stuff on top?"

_"It's jelly. Try it."_

Link tore a piece of the bread small enough for Navi to hold in her tiny hands.

"Eww! You guys  _eat_  Chuchu jelly?! Gross!"

" _It's not Chuchu jelly. See for yourself."_

Navi glared at Link as she took a doubtful bite into the crumb. Her face lit up at the taste.

"It tastes like strawberries!" She cried in delight as she dove in.

"So, Link," Shad interrupted. "Rusl's mentioned you once or twice before. He thinks pretty highly of you."

"Yeah," Ashei leaned closely next to Link. "He said you once saved his village from thieves, all by yourself, when you were just a kid! Is that true?"

"Really?" Navi looked up from her meal. A layer of strawberry jelly covered her face.

"That's so cool, Link!"

"Assuming it's true," Auru folded his arms. "Forgive me if I take that story with a grain of salt."

"Oh psh! Don't mind him," Ashei pointed to Auru. "The old man's a grump, but he's as lovable as the rest of us. Rusl's not a liar anyway, so I know it's true. I don't know what you did to make that ass Wallace so mad at you, but as far as I'm concerned, the enemy of my enemy is my friend!"

"Hear hear!" Telma cheered as she came back to the table, carrying five glasses on a platter and passing one out to each of them, including Link and herself.

"One for you too, Link," she said. "If you can stand up to Wallace, then that makes you old enough to drink!"

" _Thanks, but I don't deserve it."_

"Link said he doesn't deserve it," Navi answered after she chewed and swallowed a large chunk of bread.

"Nonsense, boy!" Telma laughed. "I could tell from the moment I laid eyes on you, you're one of a kind! Drink up."

Link stared shamefully at the cup in his hands.

"What's the matter, kid?" Ashei managed to say after chugging down her mug. "Never had a drink before?"

"Can't blame him, I guess," Telma thought. "His own dad drinks so much, he probably wouldn't want to himself."

"It's not that," Navi answered for Link. "He just says he's done nothing to deserve your praise. What a whiner."

Link twitched his eyes toward Navi, looking rather irritated.

"What makes you say that?" Shad asked, swirling the alcohol in his glass.

"He says he didn't really stand up to that guy. When he was coming into the city, Wallace was being a big fat meanie to a woman and her little girl, who just needed a place to stay for the night, so he walked over to him and tried to punch him. But before he knew what was happening the other guys were beating him up, instead. Sounds like a real jerk if you ask me."

With her retelling of Link's story complete, Navi finished off her bread crumb and went to work climbing up the glass of milk.

"Good grief!" Telma laughed. "You even  _think_  like a man!"

" _Huh?"_

"It doesn't sound like you failed to me. So what if ya got beaten up for it? You still got done what you aimed to do."

" _But I didn't do anything. I just got the crap beaten out of me. I failed."_

Navi answered his statement aloud, and Ashei replied, "That's bull crap, you hear?!" She yelled so loudly that Link jumped in his seat.

"If you think that going out of your way to stand up for someone who can't help themselves is a failure, then you're not the kid Rusl's always talkin' about!"

"Hey, cut him some slack," Shad responded. "At least the kid is humble. And honest, too."

"That's true," Telma laughed. "It's hard enough to find a good, brave man in this city."

"And even harder to find one who won't show off about it," Ashei finished Telma's thought. "Here I thought there wasn't a single good man left in Hyrule."

"That's cause he isn't," Telma answered back. "He's from Ordona!"

Poor Link sat and blushed deeper and deeper as he listened to Telma and Ashei go on about him.

"Look!" Ashei cried, tears running from her laughing eyes. "He's so red!"

At this statement, Link's face turned even more into a tomato.

"Ashei, you're drunk!" Shad yelled.

"So are you!" She yelled back, her words slightly slurred.

Telma and Ashei laughed so loudly and heartily that Link wondered whether the people upstairs would wake up.

"Ladies, please!" Shad pleaded with them. "Not you too, Telma! People are trying to sleep!"

"Sweetheart, there ain't no one upstairs!" Telma guffawed. "No one but Talon and his kids are here tonight, and one of them is here havin' a good time with us."

Link felt something rub against his leg, and he looked down. A large white cat smoothed her tail against his calf, then stared up at him with big turquoise eyes as she sat at his feet.

"See?" Telma laughed. "Even Louise likes him, and she doesn't like anybody!"

Link moved his hands out of the way as Louise jumped up into his lap. She kneaded his knees as she made herself comfortable, then laid her head down onto her paws.

"Looks like you've got a way with animals, son," Auru smiled.

Link scratched Louise behind her ears, and she purred noisily.

"He lives on a ranch," Navi answered out loud. She was now swimming through the milk, drinking as she went.

"He doesn't like cuccos though, and they don't like him much, either."

"Do tell."

"That cat's got the right idea," Shad yawned. "I'm getting a little tired myself."

"Let's finish these last drinks, and then ya'll can go home," Telma raised her glass.

"Aw, but it's still early!" Ashei stated. "Let's not go just yet! I wanted to tell Link who we are."

"Ashei, don't!" Shad protested.

"You're not the boss of me! I've got just as much say in who we tell, yeah? Listen, Link. We're not just some random party here in the city having a good time. We were meeting with that person you just saw walk out of the bar a moment ago."

"You mean that ninja person earlier?" Navi asked with a mouth stuffed full of bread. "How come?"

"Ha, Ninja person! That's a rather fitting title. I'll be sure to let her know you called her that."

"That dude was a girl?!" Navi shrieked, sharing the same reaction with Link.

"As if we knew," Auru said gruffly. "The boy, or girl, whomever they are, refuses to make himself known to us. But as far as you're concerned, he's a man, got that?"

" _What for?"_

"Because Adelz―that's one of the names he goes by―would prefer his identity be kept secret, if you catch my drift," Shad explained. "Not everyone here in the city agrees with what we're doing."

" _Why not?"_

"We're the Resistance, Link," Telma went on. "We don't like the way things are going in the kingdom right now. We've got so many corrupted knights going around, doing whatever they please with almost no supervision from higher-ups. You saw for yourself how Wallace acts when he's not being watched."

" _It makes me mad just thinking about him."_

"Exactly, and some of the politicians we have running the government are just as bad. Most of them are spending tax payers' money every chance they get on whatever they want, and they're working hard to keep the corrupted knights in control because it keeps  _them_ in control too. They're the ones who instated most of those knights in the first place."

" _What do you mean?"_

"Take Wallace for example. We've got access to pretty much every record of every single Royal Knight here in the city, but something very strange has happened these last several years."

"Ashei, don't tell him everything, geez!"

"Shut up! We gotta tell somebody, don't we?"

" _Tell me what?"_

"We've got brand new records popping up," Auru announced.

"And not just new recruits, either," Ashei continued. "We've found literally thousands of records in the Royal Knights' archives that have come out of nowhere, of people we've never seen or heard of before. And for every record that's shown up, there's been a knight to match. It's put the real Royal Knights,  _and_ the Royal Family on edge."

" _But how is that a bad thing?"_

"It's a bad thing," Auru explained, "Because the Royal Knights aren't allowed to instate just anyone they want into their ranks. By law, they're required to run thorough background checks on every civilian or individual who applies for membership into the military."

" _Are you saying that the Royal Knights have done away with that law? Are they really_ that  _corrupt?"_

"Link, we've got no problems with the army itself. Some of its Knights are good-natured and good-hearted people. You met Sir Raven, right? He can be pretty stern, but he's probably the kindest person you'll ever meet."

"It's those bastards who think they can do whatever they want just cause they're Knights that I got a problem with!"

Ashei stood from her chair and smashed her fist onto the table. The banging sent Louise scurrying from Link's lap.

"Besides," Shad rubbed his forehead. " _Y_ ou can't run background checks on people that don't exist."

" _What?!"_

"The Knights whose records showed up suddenly in the archives; when we say they came out of nowhere, we really mean they appeared out of nowhere; out of thin air."

"And here I thought you weren't gonna say anything, Shad," Ashei smirked.

"If we're gonna tell him everything, then we might as well just get it out there."

" _What do you mean they showed up out of nowhere?"_

"We mean just that: men from far and wide have suddenly appeared as part of the ranks of the Royal Army, each one claiming relatively ordinary backgrounds; one might be from Labrynna, another might hail from Lanayru, and that one over there might be from Papuchia Island for all we know, but every single one of these guys hasn't a bit of background information for us to check. No birthing documents, no parents, nothing."

" _I don't have any of those things either. Wouldn't that make me just as suspicious?"_

"You have witnesses who can attest to your origins, Link. Talon's your legal guardian and Malon's your foster sister. And from what Rusl's told us, everyone in Ordon Village knows who you are."

" _I guess that makes sense."_

"With these guys, it's different. Many officials have had to physically go to the places where these men claim to come from, only to come home empty-handed because no one in that village or city has even heard of any of these guys before. They've literally appeared out of nowhere."

" _I guess I still don't get it. How is all this a bad thing?"_

"Do I have ta spell it out for ya?!" Ashei yelled urgently. "These guys, whoever they are, lied to us and the people of Hyrule about where they came from! If they can lie about that-"

"Who knows what else they're lying about," Navi realized. She had climbed out of the milk and gone to work on another crumb of bread, but her eating slowed to a halt as she listened to the grave information.

"Including their so-called allegiance to the kingdom."

"So this is what the Great Deku Tree meant," Navi thought to herself.

"Get it now, kid?" Ashei demanded. "We've got people running left and right all claiming to be Royal Knights, and no one can tell the difference! None of the citizens can trust them, because even the ones that  _are_  legit are too busy lining their pockets with rupees, and generally being bastards to their own countrymen! And we don't even know how to react to the ones that have no records!"

" _Okay, now_   _I get it. Is Wallace one of those guys?"_

"Yes, he is. He was one of the first ones to show up about seven years ago. He claims to be a peasant from Whittleton Village in the Faron Province, but just like all the others, no one's ever heard of him before."

"He's a liar and a sexist!" Ashei said brutally. "And he's racist too! If you're not a human or Hylian man, then as far as he's concerned you're worthless!"

" _Can't they just run investigations on the soldiers that have no information?"_

"What information would they investigate?"

_"There's gotta be something to find on these guys! They can't really be showing up out of nowhere."_

"That's another problem, I'm afraid. The only other way to find out anything else about these guys is through illegal means of search and seizure. It's against the law in Hyrule to conduct searches on individuals, civilian or otherwise, without their consent or the consent of a relative, or without reasonable means, such as during a criminal investigation. None of these men have done anything criminally wrong, at least not yet, and not a single one of them has a relative who can give consent."

" _So these guys are using a loophole in the law to get in the army, and no one can stop them?"_

"More or less. And what's worse, even if we could file criminal charges against these soldiers, the only group that has the jurisdiction to investigate the Royal Knights, are the Royal Knights themselves."

" _What does that mean?"_

"It means that if they wanted to, the Royal Knights could just send in other knights with no backgrounds against those under investigation, so that they can claim complete innocence."

" _I think I'm starting to get it. So the army is so split up between the corrupt knights, the unknown knights, and the good knights, that no one knows what to think of them anymore?"_

"It's much worse than that, Link. Since the army is so factioned off, we as a nation have almost no protection from our enemies. Now would be the perfect time for any other country to attack us, and it's also a great setup for another civil war like the one we had not too long ago. For all we know, the unknown soldiers were put there to act as spies. If a war were to start up right now, we'd probably have massacres going on like those that happened sixteen years ago, and there'd be no one to stop them."

" _But aren't we at war now?"_

Shad, who'd just begun drinking down some of his liquor, did a spit take.

"What?!"

"Link, where in the world did you hear that?!"

" _Um…"_

The whole table was staring at him.

" _I-I-uh…right before we left for Hyrule City yesterday! Someone from the army came to our ranch and officially announced that we were at war with the Gerudo. I-I-I didn't think that…"_

"Of course. There was no way you could've known," Auru rubbed the stubble on his chin and appeared to be thinking hard about something.

"Link, things aren't looking good for the country, but we're certainly  _not_ at war with anyone."

" _Don't tell me-"_

"You were lied to, and from what you just said, it was most likely by one of the corrupt soldiers."

"Did he say who he was or what he was doing?"

" _His name was Rio and he was a crier for the Royal army, going door to door to announce the war."_

"Why would they be spreading rumors about a war?"

"Are they trying to get a rift out of the citizens for kicks?"

"Let's hope that's  _all_  they're doing."

"That's an awfully cruel way to rile the people up. War's not a joke, it's a serious matter!"

_"But why the Gerudo?"_

"Political relations with them have always been a little tight. Granted, we haven't had any issues with them for over twenty years, but it makes sense that they would pick someone we've been at war with before."

"Now hold your horses, people," Auru interrupted. "Let's not go making allocations just yet. How do we even know there's a connection with this false declaration of war and these unknown soldiers?"

"Who else would it be?!" Ashei argued. "This is exactly the kind of thing those guys would do!"

"Perhaps it is merely one soldier pranking some innocent families?"

"What kind of crier for the army would go across the province just to prank a couple of ranches?"

"Who said he went across the province? Link, after he visited you, did you see where he went?"

" _No, but there isn't another ranch for miles from ours."_

"You see? Who knows if the crier even visited anyone else besides Link and his family."

"Well then, why Link? What's so special about him that made the crier prank him?"

"Maybe Link's ranch just happened to be the closest. People don't need a reason to pull a joke on someone."

"War isn't a joke! If Link or Malon or Talon had gone and told someone what they'd heard, rumors of war would be spreading faster than anyone could stop them!"

"I never said it was a good joke."

"Even if what you say is true, Auru, this incident only stands to prove our point. Whether it's a ragtag soldier pulling pranks, or a group of corrupted knights pulling legs, the army needs some serious reorganization. We've got to do something about those Knights before a war really does happen!"

"The Hero!" Navi cried.

"Excuse me?" Shad raised his eyebrow.

"The Great Deku Tree sent me from the forest here to the city, because he sensed evil forces in the kingdom, so he wanted me to find the Hero of Time! If anybody can fix this mess, he can!"

" _I want to find him, too."_

The expressions on the others' faces quickly changed to tense dread. They looked back and forth from one another to Link.

"What's the matter?" Navi asked. "Louise got your tongue?"

Shad laughing nervously at her quip, but Ashei elbowed him in the stomach.

"Navi, sweety," Telma began. "It's not the Hero's job to restructure an army, and he's not someone we can call for help whenever we want."

"But the Great Deku Tree told me that he's here in the city! I have to find him and bring him back to the forest!"

" _Even if we can't ask anything of him, it'd be nice to know where he is so that if anything bad happens, we'll still be okay!"_

"Son," Auru began. "No one knows where the Hero is, and that's the way it's supposed to be. He will never appear before the people of Hyrule until he is needed. No one's seen him for centuries, and let's hope it stays that way."

"But he-"

Before she finished Link's thought out loud, Navi twirled around and jumped once more to grab his shirt collar.

"You  _saw_ him?! Why didn't you tell me before?"

"You've  _seen_ the Hero of Time?" Shad raised an eyebrow. "This outta be interesting."

" _It's true! He saved my life!"_

"Oh really? When?"

" _Rusl told you that I was the one who saved the village, but that's not entirely true. I was trying to get rid of the thieves when they got the better of me, and they were about to kill me when_   _he showed up and stopped them."_

"He being the Hero, I assume?"

" _Yeah. I don't know what he did or how he did it. It's all a blur, but somehow he stopped the thieves before they could kill me, and then he saved my life. I know he's out there, and I have to find him!"_

"Son, did you see the Hero save you at any point?"

" _Well… no. I couldn't see his face, and I can barely remember."_

"Then how do you know it was the Hero who saved your life?"

" _I don't know, I really don't. But I can feel it; it must've been him! I want to find him, and thank him…"_

The others sat staring awkwardly back and forth between one another and Link. It was a long time before Shad finally spoke up.

"Well," he sighed. "Since you just got in, you haven't had a chance to check out the city, right?"

Link shook his head.

"If I were you, I'd pay a visit to the Temple of Time tomorrow. The whole place is practically dedicated to the Legend of the Hero, so you're bound to find out more about him there."

"I keep tellin' you!" Telma interrupted. "The Hero ain't just a legend! Why, my 6th great-grandmother, whom I'm named for, helped played a role in the legend right here in this very bar! There's some real history in this place, and it's all because ah that boy!"

"We know…" Ashei muttered. "You won't stop harping on about it."

"You'd better go as early as you can," Shad went on. "Because the Temple gets pretty busy this time of year."

"Does that mean you guys believe he's real?" Navi asked.

"Of course I do!" Telma cried. "Ever since I was a wee girl, it's been my dream to meet the Hero, and give him a hand just like my great-grandma did all those years ago."

"You'd better hope that dream never comes true, Telma," Auru growled. "Because if any of us should ever actually meet the Hero of Time, it means Hyrule is in much more grave danger than we thought."

"I hate to admit it, but he's right," Shad thought outloud. "To get the chance to meet such an idol wouldn't be worth the risk of my home, or the people I care about."

"In any case, you heard what the man said: you wanna find out more about the Hero of Time, go visit that Temple, then come pay me a visit and I'll tell you all you'll ever need ta hear!"

"Don't do it…" Ashei whispered in Link's ear. "If you do, she'll talk you ta death."

"Maybe it'll be a good thing to find out where this guy is, or at least for Link to find out more about him. If the Great Deku Tree thinks The Hero's around, then we might as well take advantage of this situation. At the very least, it'll be an educational experience for you, no?"

"Anyways, tomorrow morning, go visit the Temple of Time, and get their as early as you can."

" _All right."_

"I think I'm ready for bed," Telma yawned. "I gotta get up early tomorrow morning to open the bar."

"I'm tired, too," Navi sighed. "Flying four days straight, too tired to think…"

Link scooped up a pooped Navi in his hand and made his way to the stairs.

"Headin' off, are ya? Good night, then."

" _Good night."_

"Good night…" Navi mumbled sleepily.

Link waved as he headed back upstairs. As soon as he was out of hearing distance, the others slumped back in their chairs.

"Thank goodness!" Telma groaned. "I was sure he'd heard us talkin' earlier. 'Bout scared me witless!"

"Now that he's gone, I can finally relax," Shad wiped the sweat from his eyebrows. "That kid sure is clueless. He doesn't even know what kind of effect he has on people."

"You idiots."

Telma and Shad looked up at Auru's sudden statement.

"…You're probably right," Shad sighed. "What are the odds, anyway?"

"I don't care if I'm an idiot. If that kid ain't the Hero of Time, then by golly I'll sell this bar and go into show business!"

"Ashei, why did you invite him over here in the first place?"

"I guess I was kinda hopin' that if it turns out he really  _is_ the Hero of Time, if we got him on our side, then maybe he'd be willin' to help the cause, yeah? Guess I got a little sidetracked."

"Yet he thinks he's met the Hero. What'll happen if he really  _is_ the Hero?"

"We'll just have to wait and find out, won't we?"

"Shouldn't we let Rusl and Princess Zelda know that someone's threatening to start a war?"

"I'll take care of Princess Zelda if Telma tells Rusl."

"I'm not doing anything tonight. I'm going to bed."

* * *

"Link?" Navi murmured, half asleep.

" _Hmm?"_

"Is that why you agreed to help me find the Hero of Time?"

" _What do you mean?"_

"You said he saved your life and that you wanted to thank him. Is that why you decided to help me?"

" _…Okay, you got me."_

Link tiptoed up the stairs and down the hallway of the second floor. Navi stared up at Link from his hand. Even though the hallway was dimly lit and they could barely see three feet in front of them, she could clearly Link's blue eyes piercing through the darkness.

"… _What?"_

"Nothing. I think I can fly now, so you can let me go."

Navi jumped out of Link's hand and hovered slowly behind him.

" _I thought the Great Deku Tree said you weren't supposed to tell anyone that you were looking for the Hero of Time."_

"He said not to tell anybody that I don't trust, and this city is so big. If we're gonna have any hope of finding the Hero of Time, we need information, and they seemed to know a lot about this place."

" _I hope they were right about the Temple. We can go there tomorrow and see what there is. I was gonna go there anyways, so I can kill two birds with one stone."_

"How come you were gonna go there?"

" _I'll tell you tomorrow. I'm getting tired."_

"You know, it's really annoying that you can't talk! I had to do all the talking with those people downstairs while you sat and relaxed."

" _Thanks for doing that. It's nice to know I can convey my thoughts for the first time in so long."_

"…You're welcome."

Navi blushed, but Link didn't see.

"By the way, you said your shoulder was injured, right? Let me take a whack at it."

" _What?"_

Before Link took another step, Navi buzzed in circles around his chest and up to his head.

" _Wha- what did you do?"_

"You should be fine now. Since I'm a fairy, I can heal you whenever you get hurt. Just don't expect me to heal anything major, because I'll use all my energy and die if I do."

Link shifted his shoulder in place, and felt neither soreness nor pain.

" _Wow, that feels good! You're nice to have around."_

Navi's blue hue turned red. Link came to his room and quietly pushed the door open.

" _This is where we sleep."_

"Who are those people in those beds?" Navi whispered.

" _The one over there is my sister, Malon, and the one over there is the man who adopted me, Talon."_

"But if they're in the beds, where are we supposed to- oh you can't be serious," Navi groaned when she saw the blanket on the ground.

" _It's actually not that bad. I don't mind sleeping on the ground. It's kinda nice."_

"I guess I don't care where I sleep at this point, because if I don't sleep soon, I'm going to fall asleep in the air."

Link tiptoed to his blanket on the ground and crawled underneath, lying on his back. Navi drifted behind behind him, and as soon as he lied down, she lied down on his chest.

"I hope you don't mind."

" _Nah, go ahead. I don't think I'm going to get much sleep tonight."_

"Why not?"

" _I've been given so much to think about: you, Saria, the Hero, the Temple of Time, and what those guys said about the Royal Knights. It's a lot to absorb."_

"Don't spend all night thinking about it. We gotta get up early tomorrow so we can get to the Temple."

Navi grabbed Link's hand and used it as her own blanket.

"Good night, Link."

" _Good night, Navi."_

"Link?"

" _Yeah?"_

"I'm… I'm glad I met you."

" _Yeah… me too."_


	12. Ordona 11: Hyrule City, Part 2

" _Link…?"_

"… _Where am I?"_

_Link blinked several times and put his fingers to his lids before he realized his eyes were open. A black void surrounded and swallowed him. He felt his body rushing and his hair whipping across his face._

"… _Am I falling?"_

_An eerie voice entered Link's head. His heart sank and the hairs on the back of his neck stood at the cold, dead sound._

"… _What do you care, boy?" It whispered in his ear. "It's not your problem, and it's none of your business. Go home and take care of your horses…You don't belong here…"_

"… _But I don't…I want…"_

" _Hey, shut up!" A new, harsher voice demanded. This one sounded familiar, but Link felt too abject to care._

" _What are you, stupid?! Get outta here and go crying home to mommy! Oh wait, you can't! You don't have a mommy!"_

_Both voices cackled at Link, so he covered his ears. The laughing was joined by a cacophony of jeering._

" _Leave me alone!" He cried out._

" _What's wrong, Link?!"_

" _Afraid of the dark?!"_

" _Look at you! So scared!"_

" _Go home, little boy!"_

" _What a coward!"_

" _AHAHAHA!"_

" _Stop it! Leave me alone!"_

_He squeezed his eyes shut and clasped his fists tighter over his ears. Tears streamed from his eyes._

" _Aw look! He's crying!"_

" _What a big baby!"_

" _You can't do anything right!"_

" _Go back to your silly little ranch!"_

" _You can't win!"_

" _You'll never win!"_

" _Give up already!"_

" _Give up, Link!"_

" _Give up!"_

" _Give Up!"_

" _GIVE UP!"_

" _NO!" Link screamed. "NEVER!"_

_The voices vanished instantly as a pure light suddenly shone above him. He squinted up at the light and shielded his vision with his hands. A person made of blue hovered in the light and looked down at him; a person with no eyes, just blank blue where their eyes should've been._

" _I'm waiting for you…" they said in a tuned voice. "The time has come for you to awaken…"_

_The three triangles on Link's left hand glowed, the bottom right emanating more than the others._

"… _Are you…an angel?"_

_He watched as the person and the light both faded away. When they left, he realized he wasn't falling anymore, but was now lying in something soft, even though he didn't feel the landi–_

"Link… Link, get up. It's time to wake up. I've been waiting all morning."

"… _What?"_

"C'mon," Navi whispered. Link opened his eyes and sat up.

"Whaa!" she cried as she went tumbling off her spot on his chest.

" _What time is it?"_

"I don't know. I don't read human time."

Just as Navi answered, the bells from the distant Temple of Time rang through the city; they rang five times.

" _Five? In the morning? It's too early, Navi. Go back to sleep."_

"No!" Navi hissed. "That guy said we had to make sure to get to the Temple early, so we are! Let's go."

" _He said we should try, not actually_   _do it. I want to sleep…"_

"Get up, Link! We're going right now!"

" _All right, all right, geez."_

Link threw off the blankets and stood up quickly, wobbling on his feet.

"Quiet!" Navi hissed.

In her bed, Malon grunted and turned onto her other side.

"They almost woke up!"

" _Talon won't wake up anytime soon, but Malon's an early bird. We'd better hurry before she gets up."_

"Then let's go!"

Navi pulled anxiously on Link's collar, dragging him toward the door, her wings buzzing busily.

" _Okay okay, just let go of me, would you?"_

"Hurry up!"

" _I'm coming, I'm coming! Good grief."_

Link rubbed his eyes groggily and took a step for the door. He reached absentmindedly into his pocket and felt nothing. His heart skipped a beat.

"… _!"_

He checked his other pocket, pulled out the slip of cloth with his name, and stuffed it back in. He began searching the room by lifting his blanket from the ground and looking under the beds.

"What are you doing?"

" _It's gone!"_

"What?"

" _Saria's ocarina! I can't find it!"_

"You  _lost_ Saria's ocarina?! What is wrong with you?!"

" _I didn't lose it! I had it last night! It's gotta be around here somewhere, just–"_

They froze as Malon shifted in bed once more, stirring.

"Forget about it!" Navi whispered. "We can find it later, but we  _have_ to go now!"

" _But–"_

"Now!"

" _Fine!"_

Link ripped open the door and closed it loudly behind him. He strode through the hallway and down the stairs.

"…Link?"

" _What?!"_

His eyes flashed back at Navi, so her wings drooped.

"…Nothing," she murmured.

He frowned.

"… _I'm sorry, Navi. I'm not mad at you. I just wish I hadn't lost the ocarina, and I didn't sleep very well."_

"I'm sorry, too. I don't mean to be a nag, but I really want to find the Hero of Time. The Great Deku Tree seemed really…worried…"

Link stared at his hands, opened and closed his fists, and squeezed his eyes shut.

"…That ocarina is really important to you, isn't it?"

"… _Yeah. It is."_

"We'll find it, Link. I know we will! It couldn't have gone too far. Like you said, you had it last night, so all we have to do is retrace our steps. I bet you left it outside where we were, remember?"

" _That makes sense. I'll check outside before we go, but if it's not there, then we'll just head for the Temple, and I guess I'll worry about it later."_

"Sounds like a plan!"

Link opened the door into the bar. All of last night's candles and the fire in the fireplace were blown out, and all the chairs had been upturned onto their tables. A cold chill came into the room; the last one winter would give off. The only light in the bar came through the closed windows, but it was a weak and brought more darkness than light, since it cast shadows in the room.

He was making his way toward the front door when he looked over at last night's table where he'd sat with the others. They never finished explaining what they did as the Resistance or why people didn't like them; just that they were the Resistance and that there were soldiers showing up in the army for some strange reason. In fact, they never explained why they'd wanted Link to sit with them in the first place, except that they Rusl's friends, and to babble on about how they thought Link was the greatest thing since sliced bread, even though he'd barely met them.

Link thought of yesterday and of the strangers outside the gates of Hyrule. He thought of how they'd pointed and smiled confidently at him.

" _What's the big deal? I'm just a normal person like everyone else, aren't I?"_

So far, everyone he'd met in the city either fell in love with him or hated his guts. Everyone except Sir Raven, of course. Link scoffed at the thought of him. He didn't know what Raven thought of him, but as long as he never met him again he didn't care. He hated him almost as much as he hated Wallace, and he hated both of them for the same reason.

Link lifted his hand toward the front door and jiggled the handle.

" _What the–"_

"What's wrong?" asked Navi.

" _The door's locked!"_

"What? Why? Telma knew we were leaving early, right?"

" _Maybe she forgot, or didn't think we'd be leaving so early."_

"Try the windows. Maybe we can climb out that way."

He tried the latches of every window he could find on the first floor.

" _It's no good. All the locks are rusted tight."_

"What do we do now? We can't do anything if we can't get outside."

A gently thump came from behind. Link turned and saw Louise, Telma's cat. She'd jumped from the wooden floor and now sat on the bar counter. She stared at them and flicked her tail back and forth.

"Good morning, Louise," Navi fluttered over to her. "You wouldn't happen to know a way out of this place, would you?"

Louise gently cocked her head. She turned from them, leapt nonchalantly from the bar counter, crossed the tavern and made her way over to last night's table.

" _Can you talk to animals, too?"_

"I can, but not to that many. I'm still growing, so I don't have very many powers yet."

Louise stared hard at Link.

"She wants us to follow her. She says there's another way out."

Link and Navi followed Louise as she stepped farther and farther into the back of the bar. Past the table where the Resistance sat the night before, stacks of rotted crates lined the wall all the way up into the rafters. Louise jumped onto the ledge of a crate and climbed up to the peak of the pile all the way to the ceiling. Navi flew after her.

"She says it's this way."

" _Seems like a weird way to get outta here, but okay."_

Link grabbed the highest crate he could reach and pulled himself up. The crate's wooden frame groaned under his grasp and shattered.

"Watch out!"

Link pulled back his hand in time to keep from getting any cuts, but found himself tumbling back down. He reached for another crate just in time to keep from falling.

"Grab onto the crates she used to climb up. Those are the strongest ones in the pile."

He climbed up the rest of the crates without further incident and grasped onto the wide rafter where Louise sat in wait.

"Louise says to be careful; it's been a while since anyone as heavy as a human has been up in these rafters, and you've seen for yourself how run down this place is."

" _I'll try."_

Link lifted himself onto the rafter and knelt down on his hands and legs. With Louise leading the way, he carefully crawled across the rafter to the other side of the tavern, avoiding splits in the wood where he saw them, until they came to a high narrow ledge beside the fireplace. Louise weaved her body in and out of the pots that sat on the ledge where she planted herself in front of a boarded up hole in the wall, covered with chipping wood and rusty nails. Link squatted in front of the cover and examined it

"Think you can pull off those boards?"

_"I think so."_

Link used his fingers to pull on the rusted nails. They came out easily enough, so with the nails gone, he yanked the boards away and cast them onto the ground below. Each one fell with a loud 'kerklunk!'

"It'll take us in a bit of a roundabout way, but it'll get us where we need to go. She says "Good luck, Link the Hy-'"

Navi turned suddenly to Link.

"You're a Hylian?"

She buzzed over to Link and flitted from one of his ears to the other.

"Whoa, you are! Sorry I didn't notice before. And to think this whole time I was calling you a human."

Link gently scratched Louise underneath her chin and she purred loudly, low rumbled erupting from her throat.

" _Thank you, Louise."_

"She says, 'You're welcome.' Now let's go."

Link looked deep into the hole and realized just how pitch black the inside was.

" _Are you sure it's safe in there?"_

"Positive!"

Link mustered up his courage and crawled in. The hole was short and narrow, so he got down onto and drug himself by his elbows into the passage. Navi squeezed ahead of him to light the way.

" _What's the matter, Link?! Afraid of the dark?!"_

" _What? No, I'm not afraid!"_

"What do you mean, Link?"

" _Didn't you just ask if I was afraid of the dark?"_

"No. Why?"

" _Look at you! So scared!"_

" _Umm, never mind."_

"Hey!" She called. "It's not that long! The exit is just over here on the other side!"

_"Okay."_

The exit came sooner than Link expected. Before he realized what happened, he felt his elbows give way and his upper body fall out of the tunnel, along with the rest of him. He crashed onto the wooden floor below.

" _Ack! Ow! Ow ow ow. A little warning would've been nice."_

"Sorry."

Link got to his feet, dusted himself off, and observed his surroundings.

"… _Where are we?"_

"Looks like an abandoned house, and dusty at that…"

A thick layer of dust blanketed the barren room. The only decorations were a thick rug covering a corner of the floor, and an old plaque that had fallen from its nail on the wall. Navi drifted over to the plaque and peered at it.

"I think it's in Old Hylian," she stated. "I can't make heads or tails of it."

Link looked at the plaque and read the text.

" _It says, 'Jovani, Jovani, idiotic troll. Blinded by greed, the imps took his soul. And even today, somewhere he stays, though he's a grown-up. Wah! Sniff! He moans…Uh!'"_

"What does that mean?"

" _It sounds like a nursery rhyme. Probably to warn people not to be greedy or something."_

"I didn't know you could read Old Hylian, Link."

Link looked at the plaque again and realized he'd never seen those symbols before in his life.

"… _Neither did I."_

He walked across the creaky wooden floor and examined the room. Empty cobwebs hung in every corner. The only doors that led anywhere were the main entrance and the secret passage they'd just taken.

" _What kind of house only has one room?"_

Link looked down at the hardwood floor where something peculiar caught his eye. He squatted to get a better look; perfect circles had formed in the dust, each no bigger than a coin, and they were everywhere.

" _What made these impressions? Navi, look at this."_

"What, Link?"

" _I bet Jovani used to live here."_

"Huh?"

" _That plaque over there, plus all these circles in the ground. I bet this used to be Jovani's house, and these ringlets in the ground were where his gold coins laid; all the gold coins that the imps gave him when they took his soul."_

"That's fascinating and all, but this place gives me the creeps and you're not helping! Let's just get outta here, please."

" _All right, fine."_

Link walked to the front door and tried the handle. The moment his fingers touched the rusted knob, it fell off and clanked to the floor.

"Nice going!"

" _How is that my fault?!"_

"Now how are we supposed to get out of here?"

" _Maybe I get the door open. Just give me a second."_

Link backed away from the door, then charged headlong into it.

"… _OW!"_

The door hadn't budged, and Link collapsed onto the ground grasping his shoulder in pain.

"You big baby! All you did was hurt yourself!"

" _Don't call me that! I don't see you having any bright ideas! Maybe I can try kicking it open."_

"Don't bother," Navi observed as she flew into the door's mechanism where the handle had been. "It looks like it's locked, and it's so badly rusted that it's not opening anytime soon."

" _Couldn't you have told me that a little sooner?"_

"The windows are just as bad," Navi drifted to the dusted up windows and examined the locks. "What is it with you big people and not taking care of your windows?"

She rubbed a circle out of the dust and peered outside.

"I can see the streets from here. It looks so empty…"

Link used the sleeve of his sweater to wipe some of the dust away from the window and took a look for himself.

" _Yeah…where is everyone?"_

The surrounding city took on a gray silhouette from the clouds and fog hanging above. An ancient entry gate was abandoned and locked tight to the right of the house. Creaky wooden boards covered in moss leaned against the home and against the other dilapidated buildings nearby whose frames and bricks had rotted away. Weeds and grass peaked out from between the stones of the old paved road, and with no one to pull them, they'd grown tall. A dog that appeared to be sleeping (but really wasn't) laid completely still underneath of pile of wood planks, its back turned to the house that Link and Navi stood in.

"This must be the old part of town."

" _Sure looks like it."_

"Link, how are we going to get out of here? The Temple of Time is nowhere near wh-"

" _Wait… Do you hear that?"_

"Hear what?"

" _Listen."_

Navi hushed and moved close to Link's ear to hear what he heard.

"…Is that what I think it is?"

" _It sure is."_

"Where's it coming from?"

" _It's coming from underneath the floorboards."_

"Can we get past them?"

" _I don't think we have to. Look!"_

Link walked over to the ancient rug decorating the floor and pushed a corner away with his foot. The lifted corner revealed a solid crack in the floorboards, so Link bent down, grabbed the rug, and yanked it away. Beneath the rug was a large trap door, and the sound of flowing water echoed below.

"You've got really good ears. I didn't notice the running water until you pointed it out."

" _I think this is our ticket outta here."_

Link lifted the trap door and sat with his legs dangling over the opening. Navi's wings tingled as she did a double take.

"Are you crazy?! Who knows where that leads: probably an old waterway or a sewer pipe for all we know! That's not just disgusting, that's dangerous!"

" _You're not scared, are you?"_

"No, but–"

" _C'mon! Let's go!"_

"Link, listen! Just hang on a second!"

Before Navi could get another word in, Link scooted off the edge and jumped in.

"Oh, fine!" She cried as she followed after.

" _It's so dark! I can't see anything!"_

"Hold on tight!"

" _To what?!"_

Link fell deeper and deeper into the hole beneath the house until finally he plunged feet first into water and was immediately swept away. Navi trailed quickly after him.

"Hang on! I'm coming!"

The dark underground tunnel weaved back and forth and took Link with it in its rapids as it swept downhill. He coughed and sputtered the whole way as he was carried further and further away from Navi.

"Link! Come back!"

Every effort Link made to fight against the current was dashed as the water pulled him under every time, bringing on a new fit of coughing when he resurfaced. His heart pounded in his chest as water filled his lungs, and he felt a rush of fear when he suddenly dropped out of the tunnel down a brief waterfall.

He landed with a splash down into a new pool of much calmer water. Without hesitating, he splashed his way to a large metal grate that served as a floor where he pulled himself up and braced himself on all fours as he coughed out all the water in his lungs.

"You're lucky that wasn't a sewer, you know." Navi flew out the tunnel and down to Link's spot on the grate. "Are you okay?"

" _I'll be fine. I-"_ His thoughts were interrupted by his throaty whooping coughs.  _"I just need a minute to catch my breath."_

"Weren't you scared?"

" _No,"_  Link lied.

"Not even a little bit?!"

" _Not one–"_  he stopped to cough again.  _"Not one bit."_

"You lie! I've never been more scared in my entire life! I was sure you were going to drown!"

" _Well I didn't, did I? I'm fine and I wasn't scared, now can we drop it?"_

"…Where  _are_  we?"

Navi dangled in front of Link's face, gaping at the sight before them. Link wiped his wet lips, looked up and stared. The waterway opened up into a huge underground tower made of stone bricks that stretched upward forever. A huge staircase lined the circular walls and wound its way up as high as the tower. Thick stalks of ivy sprang out of the shallow water and wound  _its_  way up as high as the tower. Chunks of broken stone decorated the large metal grates that served as the floor.

"Just how far beneath the city  _are_ we?"

_"No idea."_

Link stood and wrung the water from his clothes.

"Is this some kind of ancient cistern?"

" _I don't think so. Cisterns don't have staircases, at least as far as I know."_

"Well then, where are we?"

" _Only one way to find out. Can you go to the top and see how far up it really is? I'll start climbing in the meantime."  
_

Navi buzzed her wings and zoomed straight up while Link crossed the metal grate, his boots making soft splashes in the ankle-deep water, until he came to the beginning of the steps and began his ascent. He had to step carefully over the ivy to keep from tripping over it at every step. He'd made one full circle up the stairs when Navi zipped back down.

"It's not that far, but there are really big sections where the stairs crumbled away. There are tightropes you can use to make it across, though."

" _What the heck are tightropes doing down here in a place like this?"_

"Beats me, but whoever left them here must've done so a long time ago. They look like they could break anytime so you'd better be-"

The stair underneath Link's foot rumbled and gave way.

"CAREFUL!"

Link jumped off the stair, grabbed madly at the one in front of him and managed to get a good grip on it just as the stair beneath him fell with a stone-shattering crash at the bottom of the tower. He grunted as he dug his nails into the stone to pull himself up.

" _All this trouble just to get to a stupid temple! Why can't anything be simple?! Don't suppose I could borrow your wings for a second, could I?"_

"Sorry. The wings stay."

" _I thought so."_

Link strode his way up the stairs, circling the tower over and over with Navi closely behind.

"We're almost to the first rope, so you can take a break if you need to."

" _I'm not tired. I think it'll be okay."_

"Are you sure you don't need a breather? These are pretty steep stairs."

_"Positive. In fact, I feel like I could run a mile and never get tired."_

"Well, here's the first rope."

It was now that Link noticed the missing chunks in the staircase. Tied tightly to posts across the winding staircase were cords of rope. The cords intersected one another as they went further up into the tower. Weak sunlight poured in from the cracks and windowed openings in the tower.

" _At least now we're above ground."_

"Pay attention, Link!"

" _Sorry."_

Link focused on the rope tied in front of him, stretched his arms out to either side, grit his teeth, and began to cross. The rope bent under his weight and stretched downward, but remained taut. Moving one foot slowly in front of the other, Link carefully traversed the empty passage.

"It's a long way back down," Navi peeped.

" _Don't remind me."_

Link gulped and sped up.

"Link, don't! You're gonna-"

His foot caught behind his other and he fell forward. He grabbed the cord just as he fell, and dangled freely.

" _Whew! That was close."_

The rope snapped.

" _Or not!"_

He held on for dear life and squeezed his eyes shut as his end of the rope fell toward the other end of the stairs, swinging him back and forth until finally he slowed to a stop, the rope slowly turning him in circles.

"Lucky for us you held onto the end that took you where we needed to go, huh?" Navi dangled around Link's head.

" _Yeah…"_

He looked down, and his stomach lurched.

" _Lucky for us…"_

"C'mon! That's only the first of many!"

Link tested his upper body strength as he climbed up the rope and pulled himself back up onto the decaying stone stairs, and continued ascending the stairs. The rest of his tightrope walks went off without a hitch, for which he was very grateful. The farther up he climbed the tower, the more sunlight that poured in.

" _Just how high up are we?"_

"Um, that depends. You're not scared of heights, are you?" Navi clung to the shutter of a nearby window as she stared downward.

" _I don't like them, but I'm not scared of them."_

"Remember those clouds that were so high above us when we were in that abandoned house earlier?"

" _Yeah. Why?"_

"I'm looking down at them right now," she squeaked.

" _Navi, don't tell me_ you're _afraid of– holy cow that is really high up!"_

Link stuck his head out the window and beheld the sight in front of him. Thick, billowy golden clouds surrounded the tower on all sides and obstructed any view to the ground below. The sun, now well risen, shone just next to them to the east and reflected light off the clouds into the air, making the sky look as gold and glittery as the clouds. At this elevation, a strong wind kicked off and blew Link's hair and Navi's wings to bits.

" _Wow! It's so beautiful!"_

"Sure!" Navi called over the wind, holding onto the window shutter for dear life. "It really is!"

" _Are we even in the city anymore? We could be climbing the stairway to heaven and I'd never notice_ _the difference."_

"Uh huh! Now let's go!"

" _What? Don't you love it out here? I feel like I wanna jump into those golden clouds and sail away forever!"_

"Maybe you do, but I hate the wind! I can barely fly in it, and it always messes up my wings! Can we go please?!"

Link closed his eyes and let the wind hit his face. More than anything, he wished he had the ocarina so he could play along with the clouds and wind. He breathed in deeply, held his breath as long as he could, and finally exhaled.

"Link…?"

He looked down at Navi. She turned bright red when she saw how his eyes twinkled.

" _Okay, I guess we can keep going."_

"Okay."

Navi jumped onto Link's shirt, climbed up, and sat on his shoulder as he turned around and continued climbing the stairs.

* * *

Malon stomped angrily down the stairs.

"Telma, have you seen Link?"

She leaned over the counter toward Telma.

"I heard him get up this morning; he slammed the door so hard I about got up and ripped him a new one. I thought he went to the bathroom or something like that, so I didn't worry about it, but it's been a while now and he hasn't come back to the room at all. Have you seen him?"

"Sorry, sweety," Telma shrugged. "Haven't seen your brother since you got in last night."

"What am I gonna do?! There's no way Dad's gonna get up this morning, and I'm not strong enough to lift the our milk crates! I need Link's help and I can't find him anywhere!"

"Now calm down, sweetheart. There's a bar here full ah men who I'm sure would be more than happy ta help you out. Ain't that right, boys?!"

The bar, which had already filled with men celebrating the coming year, suddenly went quiet.

"Oh come on! The girl needs help! Don't any of ya strong boys want to help lift some li'l ole crates ah milk?"

Malon sighed in anguish.

"Hey there!" A voice in the tavern called. "I can lift a few measly crates. Piece o' cake!"

Malon looked over at the hand raised from one of the tables.

"Hey," she said. "I know you. You're the guy from yesterday."

"See there?" Telma laughed. "I knew there'd be at least one upstanding young man who'd be willing ta help."

"Oh, I'm more than happy to help, Ma'am. Believe me, I'd be delighted."

* * *

" _Are we there yet?"_

"Almost."

Link clung to a slippery stone wall as he shimmied across an inch-wide ledge. With no nearby cracks or surfaces to hold onto, he dug his fingers and nails into the moss and tiny spaces in between the stone bricks. As he inched across, a pebble dislodged from a crack when his foot scraped over. It bounced off the ledge and fell back down into the tower. Link stopped to hear it land at the bottom, but never heard the tell-tale plink.

" _It's times like these I wish I could fly."_

"C'mon, you're almost there."

" _You said that twenty minutes ago."_

"Well now we're even closer than before. You see that big metal grate up there?"

" _I really don't want to turn my head to look anywhere right now."_

"It's just up there. It's the floor for the very top of the tower, and it's right above your head."

" _Well it's not like I can quit now, is it?"_

Link focused on the remaining chunk of staircase to his left and continued inching towards it. He ignored the impending depth of the fall back to the bottom if he slipped even a little bit. The last time he looked down, he couldn't even see the bottom and he'd made himself woozy, so he wasn't apt to try that again.

"Link?"

" _What, Navi?"_

She stared at him, but said nothing.

"… _What?"_

"Never mind. It's nothing."

" _Are you sure?"_

"It's just, I can read your thoughts, you know. Not just when you're talking to me. You seem kind of upset."

" _Wh-what do you mean?"_

"Well for starters, that dream you had. It seemed really–"

" _You can_ see  _my dreams?"_

"When you were asleep, I heard bits and pieces of it. It's not the same as reading your mind, since dreams are images and not sounds."

" _Can you hear other people's dreams, too?"_

"I could hear Saria's dreams when I was with her in the forest. She has really sad dreams though, and I don't like listening to them."

" _Why not?"_

"She dreams about her old friends; the other Kokiri who used to live with her in the forest. She never cries, but she gets sad when she thinks about them. I can tell she really misses them a lot."

" _What happened to them anyway? The other Kokiri, I mean."_

"She never told me, but I've never asked. Anyway, what about you Link? I couldn't make heads or tails of your dream. A bunch of people were yelling at you, and then some lady told you to wake up."

" _You heard all that, did you?"_

"I-I'm sorry. I won't listen from now on if you don't wa– "

" _It's okay. I learned a while back that it's better to talk about your dreams. Next time though, don't wake me up before it ends."_

"So what happened in your dream?"

" _To be honest, your take on it is as good as mine; a bunch of people were yelling at me, and then somebody told me to wake up."_

"Did you see anything in your dream, like who was yelling at you?"

" _No, I didn't. I was surrounded in darkness and the voices just yelled. I did recognize one of the voices, but I can't remember whose it is."_

"What about the other voice at the very end? The lady who told you to wake up. Did you see her?"

" _I did, but… it's really weird."_

"What do you mean?"

" _I'm not sure how to describe her. She was… made out of blue."_

"Made out of blue?"

" _Yeah. Her skin and clothes were all blue. Even where her eyes were supposed to be, there was nothing but blue. And where her hands were, she had really long sleeves that looked like wings; I don't think she even had hands."_

"Do you know who she is?"

" _I've never seen her in my life… I think."_

"You think?"

" _I mean, I've never seen her before, but I had a dream before where I heard her voice. I had that dream a few days ago."_

"What did she say in  _that_  dream?"

" _The same thing she said in this one; 'it's time for me to awaken.'"_

"What do you think it means?"

" _I don't have a clue. Every time I've dreamed her saying that, I've always woken up immediately afterward, so I'm hoping that's_ all  _that it means."_

"You really think so?"

" _I don't know."_

"…Link?"

" _Yeah?"_

"What about the other voices? Are you scared, like they say you are?"

" _I'm scared of falling off this ledge and breaking my fool neck, that's for sure."_

"I don't think that's what the voices in your dream meant."

_"…"_

"…Link?"

"… _I don't know what they meant either, but I hate it! I hate these dreams! I wish they'd go away!"_

"I guess I'd hate it too if people were yelling at _me_  like that."

" _It's not just that! The last time I had dreams like this, I–"_

Link's foot missed the next step and his body tumbled off the ledge.

" _!"_

"LINK!"

"… _no…"_

His mind went numb as he dropped back down into the tower.

" _This is it. I'm done for…"_

He saw Navi shooting down towards him. He could vaguely hear her wings ringing, and her voice screaming at him, but he couldn't make out her words. They dropped past the window they'd looked out of earlier where they'd seen the golden clouds.

" _My last view of the sky…"_

Images of his family flashed through his mind. He thought of Rusl and Uli, of Fado, and all his friends in Ordon Village. He thought of Cremia and Romani on their ranch. He thought of Uncle Ingo, of Talon, and finally of Malon. He wondered if they'd notice him missing, and if they'd ever find his body.

" _I guess…this is goodbye…"'_

" _Give Up!"_

" _!"_

" _You can't win!"_

" _You'll never win!"_

" _Give up already!"_

" … _no…"_

" _What's wrong, Link?!"_

" _Look at you! So scared!"_

" _Give up, Link!"_

" _No! I won't give up! Never!"_

Link twisted his body all the way around and seized the first thing that came within reach of his fingers. He came to a jarring halt.

"Link! Are you okay?"

He closed his eyes and clutched his hands so tightly that it felt as though his fingers and eyelids were glued shut.

"Link, it's okay! Look!"

He ripped his eyes open and stared at the grasped object that saved his life; the climbing ivy that clung to the walls and grew from the very bottom of the tower to the top _._ His fingers were wrapped tightly around the vines.

" _I…I don't believe it."_

"Believe it, Link! Those vines grow all the way back to where we were before, so you can use them to climb up to the top! We're saved!"

Link trembled as he released the vines in one hand to grab those higher above him, and he began to climb.

"Link, wait! You just nearly fell to your death! Don't you wanna take a break?"

" _I'm not stopping now! I'll climb this stupid tower if it kills me!"_

He quickened his pace as his trembling dissipated. His fingers worked nimbly to grab the vines above as his feet moved quickly to climb. The steady rate of his ascension became apparent when they passed by the shuttered window a third time.

"Geez, Link. You climb like a monkey."

_"…"_

"Hey! Link, didn't you hear me? Listen!"

Link thrust up into the tower as he grabbed at the vines, switching his hands back and forth and pushing himself up with his legs. It wasn't long until they came back to the ledge where Link had fallen and passed that, too.

"Wow, you got us all the way back to the top in no time…"

" _Almost there…"_

Link stopped moving upward. Instead, he seized the vines to his right and moved that way over to the last segment of stairs where he grabbed the stony surface, forced himself up, and collapsed onto the top floor.

"Good job, Link. You deserve a rest."

Link's chest heaved as he caught his breath.

" _I…don't…need…rest…"_

"…But you're already resting."

" _I know."_

He looked around for an exit as he lied on his back. To his left, he noticed a tall metal door.

"That must be the way outta here," Navi pointed out as she perched on his chest.

" _It looks like it weighs a ton, though."_

"We at least have to try. I don't see any other exits around here. You rest first, then we see if we can open it."

" _I told you! I don't need rest!"_

Link stood up suddenly and Navi went tumbling off his chest. He took two long strides toward the door, grabbed the handle, and pulled.

"Link, wait! You're gonna strain yourself!"

The door refused to budge under his grip, so Link grasped the handle in both hands and pulled harder, leaning back as he put his muscles into it.

"Hey! Cut that out! Listen!"

As he pulled, the golden triangles on his left hand began to glow, though neither he nor Navi noticed. The bottom of the door scraped against the metal grated floor as it slowly began to open.

"Link! You're…you're  _opening_  it!"

His teeth grit as he yanked even harder on the door. He felt a warm energy seep into his hands as he pulled and pulled until the door was open all the way.

"You did it, Link!"

" _I told you I didn't need rest. Now let's get outta here."_

Link took a step out the door, and froze.

* * *

Two patrolling soldiers with pikes in hand and helmets covering their faces leaned forward loosely on the allure; the walkway between walls. The tearing wind forced them to wrap their armored arms around their own chests. They stared down at the golden clouds just below them.

"You think it'll rain today?"

"Those aren't the right kinda clouds."

"Didn't know clouds had to be the right kind in order to rain."

"Yeah, it's weird. They gotta be 'kyumonilus' or something like that."

"No foolin'?"

"Hell if I know. Don't take my word for it."

When the other one didn't respond they both remained silent for a time, until they began again.

"This sucks!"

"No shit, Sherlock."

"This is the last day before the New Year and I spend it patrolling this godforsaken wall!"

"I'm not much happier about it than you are."

"I mean seriously! You know who  _doesn't_ have duty during the New Year?!"

"No, but I'm sure you'll tell me."

"Bradley! He's probably out at a bar right now drinking 'till he's so friggin' plastered. You know, I had Grand Hall duty fo–"

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I don't know. It sounded like it came from the tower."

"There's no one in there except a few rats. Maybe that's what you heard."

"Maybe."

"Anyway, I had Grand Hall duty for six weeks straight, then I make  _one_  comment to Bradley about that new trade route ordinance they're gonna instate, and the next thing I know I'm out here workin' the holiday! How much of a brown-noser can he be? Just ain't cool, man, it just ain't co–"

"There it is again! Didn't you hear it?"

"Yeah, I heard it that time."

The two soldiers stood upright, clutched their pikes tightly, and stared at the tower beside them.

"It sounds like the door is opening…"

"How?! That freaking thing weighs a ton! It takes three men on each side to get that door open!"

"Should we call for backup?"

"They both froze and braced themselves. They watched as the heavy metal door slowly opened to reveal…

"What the hell?! It's just a kid!"

"Geezus; it looks like he's had a worse morning then us."

Link went rigid as he stood staring at the two soldiers.

"Hey kid! Are you all right?"

"Link," Navi whispered. "I bet if we ask them, they'll know how to get to the Temple of Time."

" _No way! I'm not taking any chances with these guys."_

"What? Why not?"

" _You heard what Telma and the others said last night. They could be phonies."_

"Oh…right…"

Navi bent her wings low and hid behind Link's neck.

"Dude, what  _is_ that thing? _"_

"…Kinda looks like a firefly."

"No, man. I think it's a  _fairy!"_

"What?! You better not be pulling my leg."

"Hey kid, you're not supposed to be up here. Why don't you come quietly so we can–"

Link bolted, zipping past the soldiers completely.

"Holy!–"

"He sure runs fast."

"Don't just stand there! Stop him! We can't let him get to the castle!"

"Hey! Stop!"

One soldier took after Link while the other pulled a bullhorn from his belt and blew loudly. Within seconds a bell rang from a nearby tower, then another and another.

"Link! What are you doing?!"

" _I don't know! Just hang on!"_

Link yanked Navi out of the air, making her squeak at his sudden grip, and held onto her as he ran across the curtain wall.

"Link! Look!"

" _What?!"_

"Over there!"

Navi pointed from inside Link's hand at the multiple nearby towers. They stood erect side by side, the center tower the tallest and widest of them, which Link recognized instantly as–

" _Hyrule Castle?! How did we get all the way over here?!"_

"We're in trouble now!"

" _You think?! No wonder they're chasing us!"_

"Watch out!"

A soldier running straight for them made a mad grab at Link, but he swerved out of the way and made a sharp turn down another curtain wall walkway.

"We gotta get outta here, Link! What do we do?!"

" _I'm thinking, I'm thinking!"_

Link ran as fast as he could down the walkway of the castle walls, dodging several more soldiers. When one tried to grab him with a vice grip, he ducked under and slid past him. He barely had time to catch himself when the walkway came to an abrupt end. He stumbled forward and threw his hands out to the side to regain his balance, getting a good glimpse at the lack of ground below.

"Link! Behind you!"

Link turned and saw a group of soldiers behind him.

"Stop!" One of them called. "You're gonna hurt yourself!"

"We can help you if you just tell us what you're doing here!"

Link looked back down at the empty drop before him, then looked to the left. He took a deep breath.

"Link?" Navi's eyes bulged. "What might you be thinking?"

" _Hang on tight, Navi."_

"LINK!"

He jumped, and landed on the nearby ledge of a blue roof.

" _Didn't you see this ledge down here, Navi?"_

"…No," said a very shaken Navi.

With Navi in hand, Link ran across the blue roof.

"Which way is the Temple of Time from here?!"

" _I don't know! Let's lose these guys first before we do anything else!"_

Link skidded to a stop when a soldier jumped down from a wall in front of him, holding his hands up in resignation.

"Wait a sec, kid. We don't wanna hurt you. Let's talk about this?"

"Link, I don't think these guys are phonies," Navi whispered in Link's ear. "Let's just ask them where the Temple of Time is so we can get outta here."

Link took several steps back.

"Wait! Kid, you're gonna–"

His foot caught on a loose tile and with nothing to catch him but air, he fell.

"LINK!"

Link's hand automatically grabbed the edge of the roof. He held on for dear life as he dangled over the abyss.

"Kid!" The soldier ran over, stooped down, and reached out. "Take my hand!"

Link gazed up at the soldier in panic, then raised his other hand to take the soldier's.

" _Let go."_

" _What?! Navi, are you insane?!"_

"What? Why am I insane?! You're the one about to plummet to your doom if you don't do something!"

" _Let go, Link…"_

" _!…Who…Who's there?"_

" _I have something to tell you…You'll be all right…Just let go…"_

"What are you waiting for?! Take my hand! Hurry!"

Link stared confusedly at the soldier's hand, and let his hand slip from the roof.

"NO!"

"LINK!"

Navi and the soldier's despair-ridden faces faded as Link plunged farther away from the castle into the clouds and to his death below. The natural wind, and the wind from the drop whipped at his hair and eyes. The golden clouds engulfed his vision.

" _I can't see…"_

" _Don't look. Just close your eyes …"_

He did, and he blacked out.

* * *

_He blinked. Lightning crashed. Rolling thunder and a downpour of rain followed. Link was lying in the middle of a field that stretched for miles; nothing but grass and meadow. He stared idly into a dark gray sky of rolling cumulonimbus clouds that flashed every time lightning rumbled within them._

_The first raindrops fell on his face and eyelashes, and he smiled. The lightning brightened his vision and left stars in his eyes. The thunder filled his ears and made them ring. The rain soaked his skin, hair and clothes. The rain didn't fall in one direction; it whipped all around him and hit him in every direction. Wind picked up and blew the grass all around him._

_Link closed his eyes and smiled wider. He never wanted to leave that meadow, and he wished it would always rain this way._

" _Do you feel it, Link?" a voice whispered in his mind. "Do you feel the power of the Storm?"_

" _I feel it…"_

" _Can you hear the rain's rhythm? The thunder's beat? The wind's hum? Listen, Link. Listen to the Song of Storms…"_

_Link held as still as he could and meditated on the rain. In the distance, he heard an ocarina playing. He strained to take in the ocarina, and everything the voice described; the feel of the rain and wind on his face and the sound of the booming thunder and the soft mellow tones of the tiny instrument._

" _Play the Song of Storms, Link…"_

_Link lifted his hand and realized he had an ocarina of his own within its grasp. He put the sweet potato instrument to his lips and followed along. His fingers moved agilely across the holes on the ocarina, and it was only seconds before his ocarina was in synch with the one far off._

" _The storm is the power and might of the skies. It strips and heals the land of all its wounds, and brings fresh beginnings to those who witness its force. With this song Link, you too can heal the land. Remember this song well. Let it guide you…"_

* * *

" _Yeah…only how am I supposed to play it when I don't even have an ocarina…?"_

"What?! Link, you're talking in your sleep! Wake up will you?!"

Links eyes snapped open. The first things he saw were the burning eyes of a woman with braided silvery hair glaring angrily down at him. He realized she carried him in his arms.

" _What the– Let me go!"_

He writhed in her hold, so she hastily dropped him on the ground. He landed flat on his back onto the stone road.

" _Ouch! I didn't mean like that!"_

Navi sat on his shoulder.

"Link! Are you okay?"

"Ungrateful. Unforgivable."

Link's spirit shook suddenly at the words that came from the woman's mouth. Her voice was strong and unrelentless.

"You, young man, are in a world of trouble. You better have a decent explanation for all the fuss you've caused."

Navi's wings trembled in fear as she hid once more behind Link's neck.

"Oh no," she squeaked. "Now we really  _are_ in trouble…"


	13. Ordona 12: Temple of Time

"Sit."

Link was shoved toward the indicated chair. He sat hurriedly.

"Wait here until I return. Chancellor Cole."

A tiny man, with fiery red hair and wearing two top hats, looked up from his seat behind a desk.

"Yes Lady Impa?"

"Watch the office while I'm gone, and summon Sir Raven here immediately."

"Sure thing, ma'am."

The silver-haired woman turned back to Link.

"Move from that spot, and you'll regret it."

Link stared into the woman's ardent eyes before she strode out of the room. As soon as she left the room, the man behind the desk grumbled angrily under his breath.

"…Useless job. Taking orders from an old Sheikah woman and playing babysitter to royalty. Grumble grumble…"

Link looked around the waiting room he'd been forcibly brought to. He and the Chancellor were the only two here. Everything was made of wood, including the desk where the miniscule man sat, pounding at documents with a rubber stamp. The wooden floorboards were firm and didn't creak when Link pressed his feet against them. Behind the desk was a closed wooden door. The only other sound accompanying the man's grumbling and the banging of his stamp was the loud ticking of a grandfather clock, adjacent to the man's desk. Link absently watched the pendulum of the giant clock swing back and forth.

Navi peeped out from the collar of Link's shirt.

"Is she gone?" She whispered.

" _Yeah, for now."_

"Good. I don't know what her problem is but she needs to chill. I mean seriously, what did  _we_ do to–"

"SHUT UP!" The man screeched suddenly. Link and Navi jumped. "NO TALKING!"

"Good grief!" Navi hissed under her breath. "Is everyone in this city  _insane?!"_

" _Shush, Navi."_

"Fine…" She sat on Link's knee and folded her arms in a huff. She closed her wings behind her.

Louder than anything else in the room, even louder than the man's incessant grumbling was the grandfather clock. The swinging of its pendulum and the ticking of its hands rapped a beat that Link followed in tune by tapping his finger.

" _I wish we had a clock like this back on the ranch…"_

Link continued tapping his finger with the pendulum, and shortly began tapping his foot. Before he could stop himself, he began whistling. He leaned back with his eyes closed and his head aimed toward the ceiling as he whistled out the song he'd learned not half an hour ago. He felt if he thought hard enough about it, he would hear raindrops falling outside to the beat of the song.

"Link. Link!" Navi tugged at him. "Cut it out!"

" _Huh?"_

Link opened his eyes and realized the man at the desk was staring hard at him. He stopped whistling immediately and turned away. When he looked back after a few moments, the man was still glaring angrily at him.

" _It's times like these I wish I could talk."_

Still fixing a mad gaze at Link, the man went back to work. Instead of whistling, Link thought in tune to the pendulum.

" _What happened back there anyway? That song… the Song of Storms, I think it was. And that vision, too. What a day this is starting out to be. I know I wouldn't be able to use it here, but I really wish I had that ocarina back."_

Link cupped his chin in his hands and leaned forward in his seat, his elbows resting on his knees, and stared at the grandfather clock's hands. He yawned.

" _Waking up early and running around underneath the city…No wonder I'm so tired…"_

He closed his eyes and relaxed. His breathing grew longer and quieter, and he began hearing voices.

"Excuse me, Chancellor Cole. You sent for me?"

"Lady Impa wants a word with you as soon as she returns. Wait here in the meantime. Take a seat if you like."

"Thank you, sir."

"Hmph."

The grandfather clock chimed violently. Startled, Link jumped to his feet while Navi fell off his knee.

"Whaa!" Navi cried, managing to open her wings before she hit the floor.

" _What happened?!"_

"You fell asleep!" Navi answered.

Link quickly sat back down before the chancellor had a chance to yell at him a second time. He sat up straight with his hands tightly grasping his knees and his eyes at attention. When the man in the desk said nothing, he relaxed.

" _That was close. Won't be doing that again."_

He looked over at the remaining empty chairs next to him. Standing at attention next to him was Sir Raven. His appearance was strikingly different from last night. In place of his dark olive tunic was an indicative suit of Royal Knight armor, but his suit was different than that of the ones Link had seen the other soldiers wear; it was bronze and had several medals pinned to the breastplate, each one bearing different symbols. One depicted two swords intersecting, another bore a shield, and another one showed a gold eagle.

"The eagle is the official symbol of Hyrule's soldiers," Raven interjected as he followed Link's gaze.

"It represents both the wisdom of the Royal Family and the courage of the Legendary Hero."

Link furrowed his brow and looked away. Raven laughed nervously.

"But I guess you wouldn't care about that stuff, would you?"

Raven struggled in his heavy metal suit to sit in the chair next to Link.

"We didn't exactly have the best first impressions when we met, so I hope you don't mind if we start over?"

Link stared hard at the ground.

"You don't talk a lot, do you? Then again, your sister said something along those lines last night."

"Give it up, Mister," Navi interrupted, standing on Link's shoulder. "Link can't talk and even if he could, he doesn't want to talk to you."

"Is that so?" Raven wondered, then smiled brightly at her. "And who might you be, little one?"

"M-m-me?" Navi stuttered. "I-I'm Navi."

"I'd think I'd remember meeting someone as charming as you."

"I-I'm hardly as ch-charming as you are, sir."

"Please. Call me Raven."

Navi's blue wings turned bright red as incomprehensible bumbling erupted out of her lips. She squeaked abruptly when Link yanked her out of the air.

"Lemme go! I wanna talk to him!"

" _Just be quiet, Navi."_

"Ehh?! Who do you–"

She went quiet when she saw Link staring angrily at the ground, so she sat once more on his knee with her wings and arms folded. Raven said nothing more, and the room went back to false silence in which the only sounds were Chancellor Cole's incomprehensible grumbling and rubber stamp, and the ticking of the grandfather clock.

"Bunch of useless, no good scoundrels, making me do all the work, bits of scrapple, mumemoth, grabble, fitzle, bargle, zauss."

As time itched on, Link found himself listening carefully to the Chancellor sitting behind the desk. The words were garbled and rather colorful, but he didn't care.

"You're thinking again, Link," Navi whispered. "What's on your mind?"

" _I've heard that guy's voice before."_

"Really? Where?"

"… _He's one of the voices who was yelling at me in my dream."_

"You mean this morning?"

" _Yeah."_

"Have you met him?"

" _No, that's the weird part. That lady said his name was Chancellor Cole, but that's the only thing I know about him."_

"How could the voice of someone you've never met before been in your dream?"

" _I don't know, but it's really bugging me."_

Link looked cautiously over at Raven, hoping not to be noticed a second time. He was looking deeply at the locket he held in his hand.

" _That's the locket he showed Malon last night."_

Raven glanced Link's way, who started and turned away.

" _This is so embarrassing! Of all the people she could've summoned here, why'd it have to be him?_ _This can't get any worse."_

The silver-haired woman returned at that moment, and following behind her was Sir Wallace.

" _Oh come on!"_

"Sir Raven," the woman addressed. "Thank you for arriving on short notice."

"My pleasure, ma'am."

"Stand up, young man."

Link did as he was told. Navi quickly ducked into his shirt while the woman pointed to the closed door behind the desk.

"March."

He walked cautiously toward the door and waited, looking up at it. Raven and Wallace waited beside him as the woman took a key from her belt and unlocked it. The inside of the office wasn't much different from the waiting room; a wooden desk and chairs decorated the room, along with another large grandfather clock. The only difference were the tall windows behind the desk.

" _You can see the Temple of Time from here…"_

"Really?" Navi mumbled. "Where?"

" _It's that tall white building way over there, with the clock tower peaking up. See?"_

"Not at the moment, but I'll look when I get a chance."

A kick to his calves sent Link sprawling forward. He knew immediately it was the woman who'd pushed him.

"Sit," she ordered.

He took the seat in front of the desk while both soldiers stood at attention at either side of him; Sir Wallace to his left, and Sir Raven to his right. The woman sat at the desk, balanced her chin on the backs of her slender hands, and leaned in toward Link.

"My name is Lady Impa. I serve the Royal Family as an adviser to the monarch, the heiress, and the military of the city. Here is the proof of my rank and alliance."

She removed a medal from her belt and showed it to Link. It bore the same golden eagle that Sir Raven had on his own medal.

"I show this to you in case later you have any ideas of accusing me, or claiming that some strange woman brought you here against your will. You will address me as either 'Lady Impa,' or as 'Ma'am.' Is that clear?"

Link nodded nervously.

"Gentlemen," she looked at the two soldiers as she spoke. "I don't like beating around the bush, and since this is the last day of the year for celebrations before the New Year begins I'm sure the two of you are just as busy as I am, so let's get straight to it shall we?"

She opened a drawer of her desk and pulled out two packets of paper, holding one in each hand and reading both at the same time.

"You both filed reports not twenty-four hours ago regarding this young man before us; Link of Lon Lon Ranch. The details of your reports vary but the general events are pretty much the same. I've called the two of you in here so that you can attest to the verity of your statements."

"The report I filed was written to the best of my knowledge, Lady Impa," Wallace replied automatically.

"As was mine, ma'am," Raven followed.

"Then I'm sure neither of you will mind if I rip this Link of Lon Lon Ranch a new one, will you?"

"No, Lady Impa," Wallace answered, with a hint of malice in his voice. Raven said nothing.

" _What does she mean 'rip me a new one?' What the heck did_ I  _do?!"_

Impa must've noticed the baffled look on Link's face, because she tossed the packets onto her desk and immediately tore into him.

"Young man, you haven't been in the city for more than half a day and you have already shown yourself to be an irresponsible delinquent!" Impa spoke so angrily and curtly that Link edged back in his chair. Her words cut through him like a hot knife through butter.

"You upset the travelers entering the city by allowing your mare to go out of control! Then you argued with a patrolling officer who refused to let you into the city because you lacked the required documentation! Not long after, you attempted to assault the very officer who stands next to you, and in the process disrupted the other soldiers who were trying to do their jobs! Because of you, they had to stop what they were doing in order to control you!"

" _More like they had to stop what they were doing to beat me to a pulp…"_

"And now to top it all off, you've trespassed onto the private grounds of Hyrule Castle and evaded officers who were merely trying to understand why a teenage boy was in a restricted area of the city! The events that occurred last night were reprehensible on your part, but what you've done this morning is not only deplorable, but against the law!"

Breathless, Link stared at his clasped hands in his lap. He couldn't bring himself to meet Impa's gaze any longer, but that didn't stop her from continuing.

"Do you  _not_ understand the effects of your criminal actions?! Do you realize that I could have you thrown in jail for your refusal to comply with the law?! We have enemies of the state who would love to know exactly how you managed to infiltrate Hyrule Castle, so if I felt it was applicable we'd be discussing this matter in an interrogation room instead of my office, so that I could ascertain as to whether you are a spy or not! Do you realize  _now_ just how much trouble you are in?!"

_"…"_

"Speak now," Impa glared at him. "Or forever hold your peace."

All poor Link could do was blink ashamedly at the justifiably angry woman. He could feel the sweat forming on the top of his forehead.

"Permission to speak, Lady Impa," Raven asked quickly.

"Would your statement have anything to do with why this boy refuses to answer me?"

"It does, Lady Impa."

"Permission granted."

"This young man suffered a childhood injury that left him mute, ma'am."

Impa frowned.

"Is this true, Sir Wallace?" she asked while looking at him.

"I was there to receive that information at the same time as Sir Raven was, ma'am, but I cannot attest to its verity."

"Well then, I'll have to see for myself. Link of Lon Lon Ranch, stand up."

He stood up immediately, but kept his gaze to the ground. Impa walked around her desk and stood directly in front of him.

"Back away, gentlemen. I need room."

Raven and Wallace both took two giant steps back.

" _Geez. She must be at least a foot taller than me."_

"Link?" Navi hissed. "What's going on?"

Before he could react, Impa reached out and yanked Link up by his throat. He hung in the air as she held him tightly.

"Lady Impa!" Raven cried, stepping forward. "Please wait!"

" _Oh great. She's so mad that she's gonna choke me to death."_

"Hey!" Navi spun out of Link's shirt and headbutted the amazonian woman. "I don't care how scary you are! You let him go, you big meanie!"

Her headbutts did little more than tickle her.

"Relax," Impa said coldly. "I'm not going to kill him."

Link realized that even though her grip on his neck was tight, he could still breathe freely. Her hand as cool, but a gentle warm feeling resonated from her hand into his throat.

" _It's okay, Navi…I'm not sure how, but it is."_

"How the heck could it possibly be okay?!" She screamed at him. "She's trying to kill you!"

" _No…She isn't…"_

"Huh?" Navi asked confusedly.

Link took a deep breath and looked at Impa for the first time since she'd started yelling at him. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be focusing. For the first time, he noticed the deep grooves in her face and neck, and realized she was not as young as he'd first thought.

"…You're missing your larynx. How did  _that_ happen?"

" _She figured it out so fast…"_

Impa put Link back down and released his throat.

"Excuse me, Miss Impa, ma'am," Navi asked awkwardly. "I can talk for Link if you want me to."

"It would certainly make this meeting much easier if you would do so. Go on."

"Link lost his voice when he was just a little kid. A tree fell on him and one of the branches pierced his throat."

When Impa said nothing, Navi went on.

"He says that the doctor had to remove his larynx in order to keep it from bleeding into his lungs."

"May I ask why you were unable to avoid that falling tree, Link?"

" _Why do you want to know so much about why I lost my voice?"_

"Perhaps because you've given me every reason to believe that you  _are_ a spy. Keep in mind young man that if I determine you are lying to me, then I really  _will_ hold you in contempt of the law and interrogate you for such matters. Now I ask again, why did you not simply avoid the falling tree, Link of Lon Lon Ranch?"

Link shuddered at the thought of being interrogated by this lady―not that he wasn't already―but the idea of going to prison frightened him even more. He remembered the event when he lost his voice so clearly, but did it matter? Would Impa even believe him if he told the truth?

"I am able to tell whether you are lying or speaking the truth, Link of Lon Lon Ranch. You might as well say anything you have to say."

" _I couldn't avoid the tree because…I went under it on purpose."_

"What the heck?" Navi asked after speaking for him. "What'd you do  _that_ for, Link? Were you trying to die?!"

"Indeed," Impa agreed. "Why did you go under the path of the falling tree? You must've been aware that you could've lost your life."

" _I went under the tree to save my sister. She found some flowers that she wanted to pick, but she didn't see the tree, so I pushed her out of the way."_

No one in the room said a word. Link looked at Impa a second time, and found her glowing red eyes gazing deeply at him.

"…Lady Impa?" Wallace finally asked.

"He speaks the truth," Impa answered. "I can see it in his eyes."

" _What the heck? What's that supposed to mean?"_

"All right, Link of Lon Lon Ranch. While you're in the explaining mood, perhaps you'd like to tell us why you came here to Hyrule Castle, even though civilians without prior arrangements are not allowed on the grounds except in the case of a state emergency."

" _Great. She's never gonna believe this, but here goes anyway."_

"I'll say it, Link," Navi replied shamefully. "It's my fault anyway."

"Why is it your fault, little one?" Impa spoke gently for the first time in the meeting.

Navi fluttered down and stood on the desk, and held her arms behind her as she began her own explanation.

"I came here to the city from the forest and only arrived last night, and that's when I met Link. I told him that I came here because the Great Deku Tree of the forest sent me here on a mission to find someone very important. Later that night, we met some people who told us that we could find out more about that person in the Temple of Time, so we tried to get there this morning, but…"

"But what?"

"We got a little lost. We went into a waterway of some kind that carried us into to that tower that we came out of where you found us. It's my fault we trespassed on the castle grounds, ma'am. If I hadn't been so insistent that we get to the Temple of Time, we probably wouldn't have gotten lost, and would be there now instead of here causing you all this trouble."

"All right. That explains this morning's incident, but perhaps you would be so kind as to explain the incidents of last night. You can start from the very beginning, when you entered the city."

"…Link?" Navi turned to face him.

He stared hard at the desk in front of him, refusing to meet anyone's gaze.

"Link, think of something. I can't speak for you if you don't have anything to say."

" _I don't care how Lady Impa can tell that I'm telling the truth. There's no way she'll believe what I'm going to say."_

"What is it, Link?"

"Well, Link of Lon Lon Ranch?"

Link breathed deeply, and began.

" _I don't know what happened as we were entering the city last night. I was riding on my horse alongside the cart that my father and sister were driving. We came from home to sell the milk from our ranch during the New Year. As we got closer to the city I got off my horse so that I could control her better, since she doesn't like strangers. But for strange reason, the people around us just started hounding me. I don't know why, but the kids in the crowd surrounded me. They were saying really weird things …"_

"What strange things were they saying?"

" _They…they called me…they called me a 'hero.'"_

Wallace cleared his throat as he stifled a laugh. He was silenced by a glare from Impa.

" _I don't know why they were saying it but they were. I've never met any of those kids in my life. Anyway Epona, my horse, didn't like them surrounding us, and that's why she got out of control. I wish I could explain it better, but I just can't._

"What happened to your father and sister when this was occurring?"

" _I got separated from them when the kids in the crowd surrounded me. I only managed to get back to them because my sister found me."_

"Continue."

Link went on to inform Impa of his run-in with the soldiers to the best of his memory. It wasn't hard to recall since the events were less than a day ago, but as he listened to Navi repeat his thoughts outwardly, he realized that the recounting sounded so farfetched that he himself wasn't inclined to believe any of it. There was no reason Lady Impa would ever believe that Wallace was as bad of a soldier as he'd seen him act.

" _I don't– I mean…I don't want to get anyone in trouble, especially since I'm the one who's supposed_ _to be in trouble here, but I know what I saw. I only assaulted Sir Wallace because he was abusing a woman and her daughter who were trying to get into the city. I know now that it was wrong to do that, because Sir Raven came to the gate where we were and chastised me for assaulting Sir Wallace. I'm sorry."_

"…Lady Impa?"

"He speaks the truth. His actions were radical and misguided, but well-intended. Is there anything you'd like to add, Link of Lon Lon Ranch?"

"… _No ma'am. That's everything."_

"…Well then. In that case, you've been very honest with us, Link of Lon Lon Ranch. Even under a stressful situation as this, where you are under direct persecution and with two soldiers to hold you down in case you were to try any funny business, you have spoken nothing but the truth, albeit you've left out a few details."

Impa eyed Link carefully, but when Navi said nothing in his stead, she went on.

"Therefore, I have no reason to keep you detained here against your will any longer, but before I let you go, I have a few more questions. For your companion."

"Hmm? Me?" Navi wondered.

"Yes, you. For starters, what is your name?"

"Navi, ma'am."

"You said the Great Deku Tree sent you here to the city to find someone, yet you left out the name of that person, on purpose I might add. Would you be willing to tell us who this person you're looking for might be?"

Navi stared at the desk.

"Do I have to say? It's really important that I find him, and to be honest I don't trust you people to keep a secret."

"No, I suppose you don't, but it would be in your best interests if you did. If the Great Deku Tree personally commanded one of his fairies to find someone here in this city, then it is my responsibility to assist you. What else did the Great Deku Tree tell you before you came here?"

"…He said he could feel evil energy forming in the land, as if something bad was about to happen."

"If that is the case, then it is most certainly my responsibility to assist you. The Great Deku Tree is the one of the oldest and wisest spirits of the land, and if he senses evil in the land, then it is our job as the soldiers of Hyrule to ensure that that evil is sought out and brought to justice. If you tell me who it is you're looking for, then I will assist you in every way that I know how."

"R-really?" asked Navi .

"Lady Impa," Wallace interrupted. "Forgive me for interrupting, but are you sure about this?"

"I am one hundred percent sure, Wallace. This little lady has spoken the truth, and if she is here on duty of one of the most important spirits of the land, then I will personally see to it that the one she is looking for will be found."

"I wish it were that simple, Lady Impa, ma'am," Navi finally replied. "Because the Great Deku Tree sent me here to find the Great Hero."

Impa's eyes grew wide. Even though Link was facing Lady Impa, he could tell that Raven and Wallace went just as rigid.

"That's impossible!" Wallace demanded angrily. "That–that can't be true! The Hero of Time is just a legend! A bed time story and nothing more!"

"No," Raven cut him off. "It isn't."

"It better not be!" Navi yelled suddenly. "Because I didn't fly for four days straight with no food or sleep, get blood spit on me, and join with this guy who's promised to help me but hasn't been able to because you're keeping us locked up against our will, all so I can fall for some elaborate prank that the Great Deku Tree may or may not have decided to pull!"

Impa glanced intently at Link before looking back at Navi.

"You do realize little one that–"

"And that's another thing!" Navi flew straight into Impa's face.

"Stop calling me little! I am not little! I don't care how much power you have in this city,  _Miss Lady Impa_! Someday I'm gonna be taller than anyone here, especially you! And then no one will call me little anymore!"

Navi stamped her feet on the desk, folded her arms, and looked straight into Impa's eyes.

"If you want to help me, then let us go so Link take me to the Temple of Time right now!"

Impa blinked, and laughed.

"Stop it! Stop laughing! You say we've caused you trouble, but frankly lady you're the one causing us trouble!"

"All right all right, Navi. Take it easy. The two of you will be free to go, and I'll even have you escorted there so you won't lose your way again."

"Thank you," Navi grumbled.

"It would be my honor," Raven announced as he bowed deeply. "To personally escort these two to the temple."

"Are you certain of that choice, Raven?" asked Impa.

"Positive, Lady Impa."

"So long as the two of you have no objections to it?"

"Nope!" Navi clapped her hands excitedly.

" _I guess not…"_

"Very well then. Forgive me for keeping you, but I'm afraid there is one more matter I must handle before I let either of you leave. Wallace, you are free to return to your duties."

"Thank you, Lady Impa."

He bowed quickly and and left Impa's office before anyone could stop him.

" _Whew! Finally he's gone…"_

"As for the three of you, please return to the waiting room while I fetch someone else. It won't take but a moment."

"As you wish, ma'am."

Raven and Link both bowed while Navi curtsied as Impa stood from her desk, opened the door, and escorted them back to the waiting room.

"Have a seat while you wait. It shouldn't be more than a minute."

Impa nodded to Chancellor Cole as she stepped outside of the room, closing the door behind her.

" _That was way too easy."_

"What was?" Raven answered.

" _Navi, you weren't supposed to say that out loud!"_

"Oops," Navi giggled. "Sorry."

"What was too easy, Link?"

"Link says I wasn't supposed to say that out loud, but he meant Lady Impa."

" _She yelled at me the whole time, but the minute I told her what happened, she just let me go like that. I thought she hated me."_

"Can you blame her for yelling, though?" Raven replied. "I wasn't there to see it first hand, but I've never seen Lady Impa quite that angry before. You must've caused quite a bit of trouble."

" _I know, that's what I mean! If I caused so much trouble, why did she suddenly change her mind? Even though everything I said was true, some of it was so ridiculous to hear about after the fact that even_  I _didn't believe half of it. How…how did she know I was telling the truth?"_

"She's a member of the Sheikah Tribe."

" _What's that?"_

"They're an ancient race of people who have been serving the Royal Family ever since the Kingdom of Hyrule was formed."

" _That's a really long time…"_

"Thousands and thousands of years of serving the Kingdom of Hyrule and not once betraying us has given them many points in their favor, but I digress. Lady Impa is a special member of the Sheikah Tribe because she has a physical trait that not too many of them have; she can 'see' the truth."

" _'See' the truth? What does that mean?"_

"I don't know how to explain it, but you noticed the color of her eyes, right?"

" _Yeah, they were the brightest red I've ever seen."_

"All Sheikah are born with those red eyes, but only a few of them are born with the ability. She can see the difference between truth and lies, so as you can imagine, it's made her job that much easier."

" _Is that how she knew I was telling the truth?"_

"You got it."

" _But…even so. Her opinion of me changed so fast in that short time. Even if I was telling the truth, it doesn't excuse all the trouble I caused."_

"I can explain that a little better," Raven's eyes shone. "The Sheikah Tribe is older than even the Hylian Race. They've been on the brink of extinction for years and years, and yet they still live. You could say that the threat of death has really helped them get their priorities straight."

_'What do you mean?"_

"Just like us, the Sheikah value the Three Cardinal Virtues of Hyrule; power, wisdom, and courage. However, they value a fourth trait above those three. Can you guess what it is?"

" _It's truth, isn't it?"_

"Bingo."

" _How come?"_

"The Sheikah believe that truth is the ends to a mean, so to speak. They believe that with discipline, determination, and the successful accumulation of one's true power, courage, and wisdom, it is only then that one is able to obtain truth in every meaning of the word; true happiness, true sense of self, you get the idea."

" _They seem pretty smart. You like them."_

"They are quite intelligent people in my opinion, but as you say, I'm biased. I've generalized a bit, so I wouldn't take exactly what I said word for word as their real culture."

" _But that doesn't answer my question; why did Lady Impa's opinion of me change so fast, even after all I did was tell the truth?"_

"It's precisely because you told the truth that she changed her mind about you, Link. As a Sheikah, Lady Impa appreciates honesty and integrity in all its forms. Even though you were in a position to lie and leave her office whenever you wanted, you stayed and presented to her the truth of the matter. The truth was more important to you than your own innocence, and that's what changed her mind. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little impressed, myself."

" _How could I_ not  _stay and tell the truth? She practically threatened to throw me in jail! What kind of idiot would try lying to_ her,  _of all people?"_

"You'd be surprised…"

Raven leaned forward in his seat, carried his chin on his fists, and stared hard at the door of Impa's office.

" _Thank you, sir."_

"Hmm? What for?"

" _For a lot of things. For saving me yesterday when Officer Wallace was beating on me."_

"Which reminds me; I'm surprised you left out that part of the story to Impa, although I'd probably have done the same thing had I been in the same situation. I'm not fond of Wallace myself, but still."

" _I already said I didn't want to get anyone else in trouble. It felt like if I told Impa about what Wallace did to me, then I'd just be shifting the blame to him so that she'd forget about me and go after him. I hate Wallace, but I don't want to blame someone else just to save my own skin."_

"Now  _that_ surprises me. If it were me, I just wouldn't want to be a tattle-tale. You're a lot nobler than you give yourself credit for, Link."

" _Well…I don't know about that, but…I also wanted to thank you for defending me in there. If you hadn't explained about my voice, then I don't know whether I'd be in an interrogation room right now or not."_

"She wouldn't have put you in an interrogation room," Raven laughed. "She was just trying to intimidate you."

" _Yeah, well, it worked."_

Raven laughed again as he sat back in his chair. Link smiled silently.

" _I would laugh if I could…"_

Raven stopped and looked at him sadly.

"I'm sorry, Link. It must be really hard not having a voice."

" _It's been five times easier since I met Navi, that's for sure."_

"You're welcome, by the way," Navi interjected.

" _I hardly even think about it, since most of the time I'm with Malon, who can read me like a book. She can't say word for word what I'm thinking like Navi can, but she still speaks pretty well for me. It wasn't easy though when I first lost my voice, never being able to express myself. Even now, there are times…when it frustrates me so much I can't stand it…"_

Now it was Link's turn to stare as hard as he could at Impa's office door. He cupped his chin in his hands and thought.

" _Navi, we_ have  _to find that ocarina, or I'm gonna go nuts."_

"He says we have to find that ocarina or he's gonna go nuts."

" _Navi!"_

"Oops. Guess I wasn't supposed to say that out loud either. I'm still trying to figure out which thoughts are meant for everyone to hear, so give me a break!"

"That's all right. I don't even know what an ocarina is, so I don't mind."

" _It's a wind instrument like a flute, but made out of a sweet potato._

"A  _sweet potato_? That definitely sounds interesting. I wouldn't mind seeing that."

" _I wouldn't mind showing it to you either, but I lost it this morning and now I can't find it anywhere."_

"It must be important to you if losing it makes you worry that much."

" _That ocarina is the only way I can speak more or less…By the way…Sir Raven?"_

"Yes, Link?"

" _I'm really sorry."_

"What in the world for?"

" _Because I've spent all this time hating you, even though you never did anything. I was just blaming you for my own weakness. Yesterday when Wallace and his officers ganged up on me and you stopped them, it felt like I failed because when I tried to help that woman, all I ended up doing was taking her place and letting them beat me to a pulp instead. I felt so weak…"_

"Link, how old are you?"

" _I just turned 16."_

"You've got your whole life ahead of you, so you have plenty of time to get as strong as you like. And for the record, you're a lot stronger than you think. Most wouldn't jump in to defend someone like that; most people generally turn a blind eye when they feel powerless to stop abuse. You may not be physically strong Link, but defending the weak and helpless without a second thought takes true strength, and courage for that matter. I've only met you last night so I don't know much about you, but you're one of the strongest people I've met."

" _Yo–you don't mean that."_

"I do," Raven smiled.

The door opened, and Impa stepped inside.

"Hello again, gentlemen. Link of Lon Lon Ranch, there's someone I'd like you to meet."

As she walked inside, a new soldier followed.

"Hey," Navi whispered in Link's ear. "Haven't we seen him before?"

"Oh my God!" The soldier suddenly gasped. "He-he's alive!"

" _Yeah. That's the soldier who gave me his hand before I fell off the castle's roof."_

The soldier collapsed in a chair behind him, his eyes open wide.

"Bu-but how?!"

"That is my doing," Impa informed him. "But it doesn't matter. Are you relieved to see this young man alive?"

"Are you kidding?! Of course I am!"

"In that case, do you believe you would be willing to return to your duties?"

"Y-yes," the soldier sighed. "Of course, Lady Impa."

" _What's going on?"_

"Link, this soldier applied for a leave of absence shortly after you unlawfully entered the castle."

" _Why?"_

"Do you think you would be in a state of mind to work if you'd just witnessed someone fall to their supposed doom?"

Link's eyes opened wider as he looked at the soldier slumped over in the chair.

"You might not be in trouble, Link, but even without external consequences for your actions, you still need to understand how much damage can be caused by unintentional actions. This man was truly worried for your well-being."

"Lady Impa," Raven stood from his seat. "Is this necessary?"

"Yes," she replied curtly. "It is."

Link covered his face with his hands.

" _I- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"_

"Link says he's really sorry," Navi said quietly.

" _I didn't mean to– I mean, I never…I'm sorry…"_

* * *

"Are you all right?"

" _Yeah, I guess so…"_

Sir Raven and Link walked slowly down the city streets away from Hyrule Castle, with Navi trailing behind. Impa had long dismissed them from her office and sent them on their way to the Temple of Time. Raven's concerned comment was the first thing any of them had said since they'd left her office.

"I didn't expect her to bring in that soldier like that."

" _Neither did I."_

"I guess she just wanted him, and you, to see the truth. Unfortunately, the truth hurts sometimes."

" _You're telling me…"_

"Hey!" Navi flew up into Link's face. "Nothing bad happened, right? The guy's fine, you're alive and more importantly not in jail! We can finally get to the Temple of Time, and I can find out more about the Hero of Ti–"

Raven yanked Navi out of the air and covered her tiny mouth with his hand.

"Hey!" She screamed, but her words came out as muffles. "Whff dff brmm ufeh?!"

"Navi," Raven whispered harshly. "And you too, Link. Both of you listen to me very carefully."

He released Navi and began speaking very seriously.

"How many people have you told about your search for  _you-know-who_?"

"I've only told Link," Navi whispered. "And a few other people."

"Can you trust these people that you've told?"

"If it weren't for them, we wouldn't have the first idea where to find him, so yeah. I think we can."

"Do  _not_ tell anyone else that you're looking for Him, got it?"

"What? Why not?"

"Are you two aware of the situation occurring the Hyrulean Army?"

" _You mean those unknown soldiers? Yeah, we heard about them."_

"Not too many people know the exact details, but everyone in the city is extremely worried, including the soldiers who can account for their origins. The same is true for Lady Impa; it's been one of the biggest issues she's had to deal with in a while. It's even got the Royal Family scared to death. Don't tell this to anyone, but we're pretty sure the unknown soldiers aren't here for their healths' sake."

" _What do you mean?"_

"We have reason to believe the unknown soldiers are working as spies."

" _But why? If they're spying on us, then who are they spying for?"_

"We don't know, but that's what we're desperately trying to figure out. The only reason we haven't kicked out every last one of them is so we can keep an eye on them, and pray to the Goddesses that we can find out who or what they're working for before something goes wrong."

"What does that have to do with me looking for the Hero of T- I mean that guy?"

"Navi, the Hero of Time only makes himself apparent to the people of Hyrule when dire times approach. If the Great Deku Tree has personally informed you that he senses evil energy forming in the city, then the situation with the unknown soldiers has become that much more dangerous for all of us; not just for everyone in the city, but potentially everyone on the entire continent. If word gets out that a fairy is here, serving the Great Deku Tree by searching for you-know-who, people in the city would panic, or worse; the unknown soldiers, if they are truly planning something evil, would execute their plans that much faster."

" _I think I see what you mean… No wonder Impa was so angry with me. It wasn't just because I got into the castle; she was afraid I was working with the unknown soldiers."_

"Who have you told so far?"

" _The only ones we've told are Telma and the other people at the bar."_

"And by the other people, you mean…"

" _Ashei, Auru, and Shad; the members of the Resistance. They're the only ones."_

"Oh, good," Raven breathed. "And you're sure no one else knows?"

" _Just them, and now you and Lady Impa and–"_

Link froze.

" _Sir Wallace!"_

"Oh no! Not him!" Navi cried. "He's one of the unknown soldiers!"

"How," Raven asked intently. "Did you know that?"

"We heard about it last night from the other members of the Resistance! What do we do?! He knows we're looking for that guy! What if he does something bad?!"

"Calm down, Navi. Let me handle Sir Wallace. In the meantime, I'll take you to the Temple of Time where you can learn more about you-know-who. Afterward, the two of you are not to tell this to anyone else. You cannot talk about it amongst yourselves unless you are absolutely sure that you are alone. Do you understand?"

"Definitely."

" _Of course…"_

"There's no helping it, Navi, since the Great Deku Tree personally sent you here to the city, but you, Link; now it's my turn to apologize to you."

" _What? Why?"_

"Telling the Resistance of your search is one of the smartest things the two of you could've done. They're working directly with the Royal Family to investigate the unknown soldiers. Telling Lady Impa and I was another smart choice, although there was no helping that Sir Wallace was in the room with us. However, you Link, a young man from a ranch who as far as I know, has nothing to do with the security of the nation. The fact that you know about all this has put you in extreme danger. I'm afraid you've gotten yourself into a situation which may be more than you can handle, but you're so far into it that there would no getting out of it, so for the remainder of your time here in the city, remain cautious; keep your eyes open, watch each others' backs, and if you see anything suspicious or out of the ordinary, tell Telma at the bar immediately, or me if you can."

" _Okay…"_

"Good. Now let's hurry to the Temple. The sooner I introduce you to Sahasrahla, the sooner I can find Wallace and keep an eye on him."

" _Sahasrahla? Who's that?"_

"He's a sage who lives in the Temple of Time. His knowledge of Hyrule's history and legends is better than anyone's, so if anyone can tell you about the Legendary Hero, it's him. Don't worry, we can trust him. Maybe if we're lucky, you'll get to here the sages sing."

" _There's more than one sage? And they_ sing _?"_

"There are many sages in the Temple, and they love singing as they work. They're really quite beautiful to listen to, although their singing is more like chanting."

" _What do they sing?"_

"The Song of Time."

* * *

"Sir."

"What is it? Don't bother me."

"But I just received news. You'll want to hear it."

"Spit it out already."

"A fairy has just made her way here into Hyrule City. She-"

"So what? I don't care about one silly little fairy. I've got more important things to worry about."

"There's more, sir. She's looking for the Hero of Time."

"…"

"…"

"So she is. How interesting. I think we better speed things up a little bit. Leave me."

"Yes sir."

"Cole, I'm going to pay a visit to our friend in the Temple of Time. Watch over the resurrection while I'm gone. And don't screw it up."

"Yes, Master…"

* * *

They walked as they talked, and as Raven told them of the Temple's sages, he and Link reached and climbed the wide granite staircase of the Temple. Bronze and marble statues decorated the staircase on either side.

"Wow!" Navi gasped. "Look at this guy holding up this sword! Is this a statue of the Hero of Time?"

"It's a statue of one of his incarnations," Raven explained.

" _There's more than one Hero?"_

"The legend of the Hero goes back thousands and thousands of years, even farther than the Kingdom of Hyrule. It's impossible for one man to live that long, so we believe that the spirit of the Hero is actually reincarnated into the Hylian race whenever need calls for it. You'll learn more as we head into the Temple."

Link gazed at the 12 foot stone statue before him. Bird feces and weather stains did nothing to ruin the stone art's glory. The frozen Hero held a long double-edge blade over his head with his left hand as he guarded his chest with a heavy shield in his right. Every fold and wrinkle of the clothing, every rivet of the chain link armor, even the expression on the Hero's face was perfectly chiseled and defined in the hard rock.

" _The artist sure did a good job."_

"Tell me about it. Look over at this one!"

Navi hovered to the other side of the stairs to a bronze statue that was exactly like the one across from it, except…

"This is just a statue of a kid, but he's got the same sword and shield and everything! What's up with that?"

"He too is another incarnation. The Hero is always a male member of the Hylian race, but his age varies between that of the young man which you saw over there, and the young boy depicted in this statue."

" _It's amazing to think that someone so young could do something so great as to defend Hyrule."_

"You'd be surprised just how much courage the young have. Follow me please."

Link followed Raven up the steps of the staircase. He'd finished climbing up the first set and had his foot on the first step of the second set when he realized Navi was missing. He turned and saw her still gazing at the statues.

" _Navi! Come on. We need to get into the Temple."_

"Aww, can't we stay and look at these statues a little while longer?"

" _Raven needs to go. He can't babysit us all day."_

"But look at how much we've learned just by looking at these statues down here! Maybe we don't have to go into the Temple after all!"

Link raised his eyebrow and climbed the steps back down to her.

" _Navi, is something wrong?"_

"No! Of course not! Why would there be something wrong? I'm fine! Everything's totally fine!"

" _You've been wanting to come here to the Temple ever since we heard about it last night, but now when we're finally here, you suddenly don't? Are you sure nothing is wrong?"_

"Of course I'm sure! Why wouldn't I be sure?"

" _You seem kind of nervous…"_

"I'm just a lover of good art is all. I mean, look at these statues! Aren't they cool? Sir Raven!"

Navi buzzed up the stairs a ways and came to another statue.

"Who's this lady here?"

Raven smiled and walked patiently back down the stairs to meet her.

"That statue is of Princess Zelda."

"She's so pretty!"

"It's said that with every reincarnation of the Legendary Hero, the Princess is reincarnated as well, and given the holy name of Zelda. Only daughters of the King of Hyrule who have been recognized as divine spirits by the sages in the Temple of Time are allowed to be given the name of Zelda, so as not to abuse the sanctity of the name."

"Do we have a Princess Zelda today?"

"We do, as a matter of fact. She lives in Hyrule Castle with her father, the King. From what I understand, she's just returned home from an expedition to the Eldin Province."

" _Come on, Navi. Let's head inside now. I wanna meet this Sahasrahla person."_

"Oh, okay. I guess we should go inside…"

Navi flew after Link as he ascended the stairs a second time. The Temple of Time loomed over them as they approached.

" _Geez, this place is even bigger in person…"_

Despite the heavy clouds overhead, the Temple of Time's marble pillars and granite blocks radiated. Ornate pinnacles sprang from the cathedral's flying buttresses and reached for the sky. Two conical towers rose from the front corners of the temple's facade, each one topped by impressive spires. In between the conical towers, a third stood even taller but was neither conical nor had a spire. At the top of this tower was the great face of a clock with big black numbers and dials. Giant bronze bells hung from thick rope cords in the open chamber of the tower above the clock. All three structures towered several stories high from the temple's foundation and from the entrance where Sir Raven and Link stood. Wide open and heavy gold doors marked the entrance of the temple. Tracery and mosaics decorated the facade. Along the temple's ledges and surfaces were even more statues.

" _Who are those three women up there?…Navi? Navi."_

"Ehh? What?"

" _Can you ask Sir Raven about those statues up there?"_

"Oh, sorry. I guess I'm a little…distracted. Link wants to know about the statue with the three ladies and triangles."

Just above the temple's gold doors, three marble sculptures of identical women circled themselves around a fourth sculpture; a monument made of three gold triangles.

"They are artistic depictions of the Goddesses of Hyrule," Raven explained. "The one at the top is Din, and the ones beneath her on the left and right are Nayru and Farore respectively. They guard the Triforce, which are the three golden triangles you see there, in their homeland of the Sacred Realm."

Raven walked underneath the Three Goddesses to the open doors.

"Let's not waste any time. You two need to find out the truth."

"Wait."

" _What is it now, Navi?"_

Navi's wings trembled as she stopped flying and landed on the ground.

"I'm sorry," she shivered. "I lied when I said there wasn't anything wrong, but there is. I can't go in there. I'm sorry!"

" _What? Why not?"_

"I'm starting to know what the Great Deku Tree meant, because I'm sensing something really  _really_ evil in there. I can't, I just can't go in there!"

" _What do you think is in there?"_

"I don't know, I don't know! Just something really really bad! There's no way I'm going in there with that much evil energy in that place!"

" _What do we do now?"_

"Do you want to wait until whatever you're feeling goes away, Navi?"

"I don't know! I just want it to go away! It's hurting me!"

Navi folded her body inward and hugged herself tightly as she sat in fetal position, rocking herself back and forth.

"Link! Help me!"

Link snatched up Navi in his left hand.

" _We can't wait to go in there, Navi. You heard what Ashei and the others said in the bar last night, and what Sir Raven told us just now. Who knows when we'll have another chance to learn about the Hero of Time. Hyrule's in trouble, and we have to help!"_

"But, I can't go in there!"

" _You can hide in my shirt or in my hand the whole time we're in there, and I can learn about Him for you. You won't be there alone. I'm right here, ok? I'll be right next to you."_

"Mmmm…" Navi trembled in Link's hand and hesitated.

" _I won't leave you alone…"_

"…Okay…"

She curled up tightly as Link gently tucked her into the collar of his shirt where she burrowed down and hid in his chest.

"Are you two ready?"

" _As ready as we'll ever be I guess."_

Raven turned back toward the doors, took a few steps in, and froze where he stood.

"On second thought," he whispered huskily. "I think I'll stay here and help give you two the grand tour."

Raven's terror-filled eyes looked straight ahead into the temple.

" _Why? What's wrong?"_

"Link, no matter what happens you follow my lead. Navi, don't say a word. Got it?"

"I wouldn't say a word right now if I wanted to," she whimpered back.

" _Did I miss something?"_

Raven didn't wait for their answer. He went inside.

" _Hey! Wait up!"_

Link followed after Raven and tried to catch up, but halted when he entered the dimly lit temple and came face to face with the sanctuary's interior. His mouth fell open, and his mind went blank.

" _WHOA…"_

The ceiling of the temple, painted over by a richly textured fresco, sloped upward along the sides and met at the center of the ceiling in a pointed ellipse. Carvings and statues decorated the high ledges along the walls. Tall marble pillars separated the main passageway, the nave, from the two aisles on either side of the temple. Light poured in from the intricately stained glass windows that embossed every visible wall of the temple. The thick marble floor was adorned by a long velvet red rug that ran from the entrance of the temple to the standing altar on the other side.

" _Navi, you gotta see this!"_

"I don't care  _how_ cool the Temple of Time looks; I'm not comin' out! Just see what you can find out for me."

Words are worthless to describe what exactly Link experienced that very moment, except that tidal waves of humility and reverence washed over him. The architecture of the temple overwhelmed him, and everywhere he looked, more and more prominent figures of Hyrulean history stood before him. He recognized only the few that Raven had introduced to him, but he sensed their domineering glory nonetheless.

Link walked carefully across the nave of the temple and tried to take everything in at once. The sound of Link's footsteps echoed off the thick walls and arcades of the aisles as he walked through.

Standing in front of the altarpiece at the end of the nave were two men conversing with one another. They spoke in hushed whispers as Raven approached and bowed deeply before them. The first of the two men was elderly and dressing in orange draping robes that made him look three times bigger than his original frame. Bushy white hair grew out from his head and chin and converged to form an increasingly long beard. He wore a cap and held a wooden staff in one hand to keep his balance. The second man was middle-aged and hulked over the elder. His thick crimson robes covered every part of his body and all his face, except for his eyes which shot out at whomever he cast a glance.

"Good morning to both of you, Sage Sahasrahla and Master Agahnim."

"As advisor to the King himself, I should expect you to address me first."

"You're right, Master Agahnim. My apologies."

The older man gripped his staff tighter as he chuckled.

"There's no need to be so formal, my child," he spoke in a warm raspy voice. "You are here in the presence of Goddess Hylia."

"Thank you, Sahasrahla, sir," Raven rose. "I beg both of your pardons. I don't mean to interrupt, but I found this young man sulking outside the Temple."

"What young man?" The man in crimson robes quietly demanded as he eyed Raven.

Raven turned. Link wasn't behind him.

"Link? Link!"

Link stood and gazed in awe at the massive stained glass window before him. The colors of the faces and figures popped out brightly and painted a story before his eyes that he could not interpret. He recognized the serious face and double-edged sword of the Child Hero, but there were seven other faces in the glass that he didn't know, and they were surrounded by the waves of the sea.

A hand suddenly gripped Link's shoulder and he froze.

"Like that window, do you?"

The asking voice was cold and malevolent. Not knowing what else to do, Link nodded quickly. The crimson man, still with his hand on Link's shoulder, pointed a grisly finger at the window.

"The land once known as Hyrule thousands of years ago was washed away into the depths of the sea by the will of the goddesses. This window tells the story of the Child Hero who travelled with a band of pirates in order to discover a new Hyrule, the land we inhabit today. See that young lady standing beside him?"

Link looked back to the window and eyed the dark-skinned girl with twirled blond hair.

"She was the leader of the pirates with whom he travelled, and the Princess of Hyrule. Together, she and the Hero of Winds colonized the land we now call home."

" _Did you hear all that, Navi?"_

She shifted her wings affirmatively.

"Ho ho!" Sahasrahla, using his staff as a cane, staggered over to the two. "Why Agahnim, I've never known you to take such an interest in the education of the children!"

Agahnim frowned.

"I just wouldn't want to see anyone misinformed, is all."

"Although," Sahasrahla ignored Agahnim and walked up to Link so he was only a few inches from his face.

"You hardly seem a child, at least not anymore."

Link stood perfectly still as the brightest pair of blue eyes he'd ever seen stared into his own.

"You've got good eyes, son. Good, noble, fierce eyes. Almost like a divine beast."

" _Uhh…"_

"Oh, don't you mind this old man's blathering," Sahasrahla laughed as he backed away from Link's personal space. "I'm just a humble sage with hardly anyone to keep him company. Raven tells us your name is Link, yes?"

Link nodded.

"And that he saw you sneaking around outside the temple," Agahnim added.

Link sensed the intended lie and nodded in confirmation.

"I don't blame the boy's curiosity. This temple is quite a marvel to behold from the outside."

"Ah," Sahasrahla's eyes sparkled. "But it is the inside that matters the most. I'd be happy to give you a bit of a tour, my boy, if you're in no hurry."

Link smiled and nodded.

"Forgive me for not previously informing you," Raven approached them from behind. "But Link is mute."

"He is, is he?" Sahasrahla used his free hand to scratch his bearded chin. His eyes shined even brighter. "How peculiar."

"A tour then?" Agahnim grinned as he put his fingers to his own chin. "Where should we begin?"

"We've already covered this window right here, but why don't we start from the beginning?" Sahasrahla suggested as he turned from them and slowly made his way to another stained glass window. Link followed behind Sahasrahla while Agahnim and Raven trailed after.

"There's lotsa details to this Temple of Time, so we'll try not to bore you too much," Sahasrahla grunted. "For starters, when Princess Zelda VII and the Hero of Winds, as you saw in that window, first colonized this continent, much of Hyrule's history had already been lost to time. It's only thanks to the archaeological efforts from the university built here in the city hundreds of years ago that we've been able to recover the history of the people, and it goes back 25,000 years."

" _25,000 years?!"_

"The look on your face speaks for itself, boy. Yes, 25,000 long, long years. The historians who informed the citizens of this long time line were working hand in hand with the original sages who built this temple hundreds of years ago. You see, the sages living on this land were already aware of the existence and purpose of the Legendary Hero, so on this new continent they wished to dedicate to him as accurate a memorial as possible, in order to honor him for his great deeds.

"The Royal Family received news of the sages' idea and was pleased, and as eager scholars stepped up to help, the University of Hyrule, the Royal Family, and the sages all began working together.

"The Royal Family had a wealth of information regarding the Legendary Hero, and so too did the sages, but what information that had been lost was filled in by those eager scholars using archaeological and scientific methods to uncover the lost history of our people. They climbed the highest mountains, dove to the depths of the sea, and conversed with anyone and everyone who might have some rendition of the Legendary Hero, all in his name, and what they found was nothing short of spectacular.

"I said earlier that the sages were already aware of the existence of the Legendary Hero, but they had no idea just how great his legacy truly was."

Sahasrahla slowed to a halt in front of another window, twice as large as the one Link had seen before. Two people were featured in the stained glass, and only one of which Link recognized.

"This window here shows the Hero of Time as he was 25,000 years ago, but you probably already knew that. Can you recognize the woman on his left?"

Standing beside the brandishing hero to his left was a beautiful woman dressed all in white. Her golden blond hair flowed all the way down to her ankles and swept from side to side as she played the golden harp she held in her hand.

Link gazed up at the woman, then pointed back at the window of the band of pirates.

"Princess Zelda? You're close, my child, but no. The woman you see in this window is none other than Hylia, the Goddess of Time and Guardian Angel of Hyrule. Ironically enough, Her existence had been lost in time to us, but with the aid of those historians hundreds of years ago, Her light can shine once more on the land and its people."

Sahasrahla edged away from the stained window and walked back toward the altar.

"It's a rather interesting story of how we rediscovered her. The Royal Family knew that somewhere in the Great Sea lied the ruins of the original land of Hyrule, but the ruins were so far beyond their reach that they had almost no hope of excavating them. That's where the historians came in; using new means of technology they developed themselves, they were able to dive down to the bottom of the ocean without fear of drowning or losing air.

"Using this technology, they began searching for the lost land. They searched for many many years, but their searches yielded very few results until finally one day, they found the ruins of the ancient castle that was once Hyrule Castle.

"Oh the joy they must've felt! The finding of that castle sparked such enthusiasm in the people of Hyrule, for the knowledge they found within the castle was priceless to behold. They brought back such relics and artifacts as had not been seen by human eyes for millenia!

"One of those very relics, perhaps the most sacred of any, lies behind this door, Link."

Sahasrahla stopped in front of a double door and turned to face Link. The door stood fifty feet tall and was solid gold. Hammered into its surface were artistic patterns and more historical figures, as well as incomprehensible symbols.

"This door is sealed shut with the strongest magic of its kind, so as to prevent evil souls from ever entering this room. The gold metal from which the door is built of represents the Golden Power of the Goddesses and expels evil spirits. You see, it is the Blade of Evil's Bane that lies beyond this door; the very blade of the Legendary Hero."

" _Whoa … I wish I could see …"_

Link laid his hand on the door. It felt cool to the touch.

"It is of course the same blade featured in the stained windows of this temple, and is as old as Hyrule itself, yet the blade has never lost its edge nor ever required tempering. It is truly a marvel to behold. Only sages of the temple are allowed to enter of the room to check on the sword, although it's highly doubtful that it will ever move, since only those the Blade itself deems worthy of carrying it may remove it from its pedestal."

Navi's wings buzzed excitedly, making Link shift and twitch.

" _Navi, stop! That tickles!"_

"Something troubling you, boy?" Agahnim hissed while folding his arms and staring maliciously at Link. Goosebumps formed on Link's arms, and he felt a shudder run up his spine. He shook his head quickly.

"It's strange, though," Sahasrahla rambled on. "When the historians found the sword, it was lodged into the head of a great stone statue. They had to bring it back in order to dislodge the sword."

"What made the sages decide to build a temple as their memorial to the Legendary Hero, sir?" Raven asked quickly.

"I never get tired of telling you young ones these stories. After the historians discovered Old Hyrule Castle, they searched the area around it to see if there were more ruins, and there were; they discovered the remains of an ancient temple, and with a little digging and analyzing, they realized that the ancient temple they'd discovered was the remains of the Old Temple of Time, the very temple used by the Ancient Sages to seal the Sacred Realm. With this discovery, it only seemed fitting that the monument to the Hero of Time would be a new Temple of Time built in his honor. It might not serve the same purpose as the original structure or be as grandeur, but I still like to think our temple is satisfactory as is."

" _If this temple is nothing compared to the original, then I wish I could've seen the original in all its glory."_

Sahasrahla took his staff in hand and began walking slowly through the aisle of the temple, pointing his staff at each window.

"And so, with the history of Hyrule rediscovered and the memorial decided upon, the Royal Family, sages, and historians worked together to create a temple dedicated to the legacy of the Legendary Hero. Without their efforts, much of our history would be lost in time forever.

"There's still lots of work to be done, and the efforts of today's historians and sages like me are still ongoing. Not only are we still excavating the remains of Old Hyrule Castle, but since the Tale of the Hero of Time is a legend told by way of the mouth, we're also working to receive as many different interpretations from as many different people as possible. You'd be surprised the amounts of stories we hear.

"In this window here, we see the Hero of Men taking in his hand the Four Sword and wielding it against the evil Wind Sage. Upon his head is the Minish Cap. Sadly, we have yet to find the Four Sword.

"In this window, the young Hero is removing the Master Sword from its pedestal in the original Temple of Time. He was then put into a sleep that lasted seven years so that he would be able to destroy the King of Evil.

"Ah, this window is my favorite; here, the young Hero is playing a duet with Princess Zelda on the Spirit Flute, accompanied by the peaceful Lokomo on their respective instruments."

The more windows they passed, the more stories Sahasrahla gave, and the more excited Link grew. Goosebumps formed once more on the skin of his arms as the legends of heroic deeds and lives filled his mind and senses. He thought of Rusl and how during his childhood, he would tell similar stories around the campfire.

" _Man, hearing all this makes me feel like a little kid again…"_

"And over here, we have a real treat for you," Sahasrahla pointed his staff toward the other side of the aisle. "An ancient relic you may see for yourself."

At the end of the aisle, a large glass case rested on a pedestal. A tiny light bulb inside illuminated the manuscript resting in the display.

" _That's a big book."_

"This tome is called the Book of Mudora, my child. Although the text is indecipherable today, we know it to contain the ancient Hylian language that tells of the original Legendary Hero."

Link pressed his hands and forehead against the glass and stared into the case at the pages.

"… _Et electi masculum Hylian tenebunt gladius malum malo manu eius juste et vocabitur fatalique heros Hylia…And the chosen male Hylian shall take the Sword of Evil's Bane in his 'righteous' hand, and he shall be called Hylia's Chosen Hero…"_

"Well, my boy? I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of the Temple of Time."

Link turned away from the case and smiled at the sage, giving a thumbs up.

"Excellent! It does me good to see the youth so interested in Hyrule's history."

Raven stood behind Sahasrahla, but behind him was no one. Link looked around.

" _What happened to the other guy?"_

"May I ask where Master Agahnim has gone?" Raven asked, noticing his absence at the same time as Link.

"Hmm, you're right; he's disappeared without a trace hasn't he? That's Agahnim for ya. Always runnin' off to get things done. He's a busy man, he is. Especially with the New Year approaching."

Sahasrahla's eyes lit up suddenly.

"Which reminds me; did you know, young man, that the New Year isn't just a holiday celebrating the cycle of seasons, but also a celebration for the Legendary Hero?"

Link shook his head.

"It's true, my boy. The years that go by represent the location where the Hero will come from, should his identity be revealed in the coming year. Since this New Year is the Ordona Wolf, then the Hero will reign from Ordona. If he arrives next year, the year of the Labrynna Phoenix, then he will arrive from Labrynna, and so on and so forth. The order of the years also represent the order in which he will visit each temple in the provinces of Hyrule. He begins his journey here in the Hyrule Province, then makes his way to Ordona, Labrynna, Holodrum, Faron, the Great Sea, Lanayru, Eldin, and finally Termina.

"But no matter where the Hero of Time comes from, he will always have the same general attributes."

"I'd take note if I were you." Raven whispered to Link.

"The Hero is always a male of the Hylian race. His age varies, but he will never be younger than a small child, or older than a man just leaving his teens. He is more often than not left handed. He is musically-inclined and gifted in the ways of the sword and bow. Children and animals are instinctively drawn to him. He has an innate sense of courage, justice, truth, and righteousness. When he is revealed by removing the Master Sword from its pedestal, he will be garbed in the traditional green tunic of the Hero. His mind is pure and his heart is righteous, and he cares nothing for his own gratification; he fights only to defend the defenseless and protect those who cannot protect themselves. His power grows as he overcomes the obstacles and evil forces before him, and as he journeys and fights in the name of true justice, he gives hope to the people of the land so they may live in peace, and yet asks for nothing in return. He speaks nothing but the truth, and his deeds are none but courageous and virtuous. He acts only in the name of the Goddess Hylia and of the Royal Princess Zelda."

Navi's wings buzzed excitedly and Link shifted and twisted around in response.

" _Navi, cut it out, would you?!"_

She popped out suddenly from Link's sweater.

"That's it! That's what we need! Come on, Link!"

She pulled on his hair and dragged him toward the door of the temple.

" _Ow! Navi! That hurts! Cut it out!"_

"Hey, wait!"

Before he could stop them, Raven was left standing alone in the temple beside Sahasrahla.

"That fairy doesn't know her own strength," he mumbled.

"What fairy?" Sahasrahla coughed innocently. "I didn't see a fairy."

He smiled slyly at Raven before walking off with his staff in hand.

" _Navi, for crying out loud, stop pulling my hair!"_

He finally managed to brush her away from his hair as soon as they passed the door.

" _If you wanted to leave, you could've just said so! Geez!"_

"Link, listen to me! Didn't you hear what that guy said? There isn't a Hero of Time!"

" _Are you nuts?!_ _Of course there's a Hero of Time. He just got done showing us all that stuff!"_

"Yeah, but remember what he said about the Master Sword? He said the Hero of Time wields the sword when the need arises, right?"

"… _Right?"_

"So if the Master Sword is still in the Temple of Time, then that means the Hero of Time hasn't removed it from its pedestal, but the only way that's possible is if he hasn't been revealed yet. Therefore, there is no Hero of Time yet."

" _I guess that makes sense, but how is that a good thing? How are we supposed to find the Hero of Time if there isn't one yet?"_

"Hello?! Did you listen to a single thing he said? He practically gave us everything we needed to know. All we have to do is find someone in the city who has all the requirements that Sahasrahla named off."

"… _You do realize there are thousands of people in Hyrule City, and that more than several of them are probably going to meet the requirements, right?"_

"Not really. Hylians aren't the most common race, and it's not that hard to tell them from regular humans. It shouldn't be that hard to find a teenager Hylian boy either. One who's good at music, is nice and brave that kids and animals really like,  _and_ is from Ordona. How many Hylians in the city could possibly meet all those requirements?"

" _Well, since Hyrule City is the Hylian center of the continent, probably a lot. And even if there aren't that many, do you know how hard it's going to be to find one person out of thousands and thousands?"_

"That's where you come in."

" _Ehh, what?"_

"With your help, we're going to comb this entire city and find the one meant to be the Hero of Time!"

" _WHAT?!"_

"Listening to Sahasrahla talk that way about the Hero of Time made me so excited!"

" _I noticed. You couldn't sit still if you tried. That reminds me; I thought you said you hated being in there. Why'd you climb out of my shirt if you were so scared?"_

"It's weird. The evil presence I felt in the Temple disappeared all of a sudden, so I wasn't so scared."

" _That's really str–"_

"Link, forget about that! Now we know what to look for! We should start right now!"

" _Oh come on! Can't we at least get breakfast first? I'm starving, and I still have to go back to the inn to help Malon move all the bo– Oh crud!"_

"What? What's wrong?"

" _The whole reason I'm here in the city in the first place! I'm supposed to be selling the boxes of milk for our ranch! It's so late in the morning that Malon must've already started without me! She's gonna kill me when I get back!"_

"Good idea! While you're selling milk, you can check all your customers to see if any of them meet the requirements to be the Hero of Time!"

" _Navi!"_

Link ran down the steps away from the Temple of Time, several paces ahead of the ambitious fairy.

"Hey!" She called. "Wait for me!"

* * *

"Whew! We're finally done."

Malon collapsed into the bar stool in front of Telma and wiped the sweat from her brow with her dirt-caked arm, her companion taking the stool next to her.

"That wasn't that hard. You had me thinking those boxes would be heavy or something."

"You're awfully coy, aren't you?"

"Well you're used to it," he laughed. "So it must seem like nothing to you."

"I suppose, but no matter how much I think I can lift, Link can get even more done than I can…"

"Aw, quit worryin' about him! I bet he's just ditching you is all. Nothin' happened."

"He's been missing all morning! I don't care if he's ditching at this point, I just wish I knew where he was! This city is huge! He could be hurt or in trouble somewhere and I'd never even kno–"

The tavern door slammed open, Link stumbled in, tripped on the leg of a chair, twisted around in midair, and fell flat on his back.

"Geez, Link," Navi trailed after him and landed on his chest. "Been walking long?"

"Well well well, look what Louise dragged in," Telma chuckled. Louise looked up from her spot in front of the fireplace and meowed roughly.

"Link! I'm gonna kill you!" Malon jumped up from her bar stool, yanked Link up by his shirt collar and shook him until his teeth rattled. "Where in Din's name have you been?! And – and why do you smell like you jumped into a sewer?! God, you're disgusting!"

Link's head jarred back and forth until he finally grabbed Malon's arms and forced her to stop.

" _Sorry I'm late."_

Navi unconsciously replied for Link, so Malon looked straight at her.

"Who are you?… _What_ are you?"

" _Navi, Malon. Malon, Navi."_

"Whatever. Link, I outta take you out back and beat you 'til you bleed! You went who knows where, to do who knows what, while I got stuck here to lift all the milk boxes myself! If it weren't for Rio, I don't know what I'd have done!"

"… _Wait, what? Who?!"_

Rio turned on the bar stool and smiled mischievously at Link.

"Hey, man. Long time no see, huh?"


	14. Ordona 13: Hyrule City, Part 3

The hairs on the back of Link's neck stood on end.

"What's the matter?" Rio smiled. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah, Link," asked Malon with bitterness. "What  _is_ the matter?"

"What's her problem?" Navi rolled her eyes.

"My problem," Malon leaned in close to Navi. "Is that my wonderful brother here left me to do all the work for our ranch by myself!"

_"I had something I needed to do."_

"What did you have to do that was so important?"

_"…I can't tell you."_

"Why not?"

_"I promised not to tell."_

"That's not fair! I deserve to know where you went! For all I know, you walked out on me!"

_"I didn't, I promise! I just lost track of time!"_

"You didn't even leave a letter, or give me a heads-up or anything! You just left and didn't tell me where you were going! What if something bad happened to you?! If someone mugged you or you got lost, Dad and I wouldn't be able to find you! You would've been lost in the city forever with no one to help you! Is what you were doing so important that it couldn't have waited until after we at least moved the boxes?!"

_"Yes."_

Blindsided, Malon was forced to drop her voice and change her method.

"Link, did you go to the Temple of Time to search through the archives?"

_"No."_

" _'No?'_  What do you mean,  _'no?!'_ "

_"I went to the Temple of Time, Malon, but not for me. I went for another reason that I can't say."_

"You're the last person I ever expected to keep a secret from me!"

_"What about you? Of all people, I can't believe you let this guy help you!"_

"That's harsh, dude." Rio frowning innocently. "And here I thought we were friends."

_"You're_   _NOT my friend!"_

"Don't take it out on him! This isn't about him, it's about you! At least he helped me while you were gone! What's gotten into you?!"

_"He lied, Malon! He didn't help us, he made us look like idiots!"_

"What are you talking about?!"

_"There is no war, Malon!"_

"What? No war?" Malon's face changed from anger to confusion.

_"He came to the ranch with a fake declaration! It was all a joke!"_

"Rio, is that true?"

"Yeah," he grinned sheepishly. "I pulled a fast one, just like he said."

Rio stood up, grasped Malon's hands, and looked deep into her eyes.

"But if I'd known that a such pretty girl like you lived on that ranch, I would've thought twice."

_'Oh come on!"_

"At least he's sorry, which is more than I can say for you!"

_"Look, I'm sorry I missed helping with the boxes, okay? I had something to do!"_

"Which you won't even tell me about! For all I know, you're lying and really did go to the Temple of Time to find records of your parents!"

"Parents?" thought Navi.

_"I didn't, I swear!"_

"Quit lying!"

_"I'm not!"_

"Maybe I should go?" Rio scratched the back of his neck as he made his way for the door.

"No!" Malon grabbed his arm. "You're going with us, Rio!"

_"What?"_

"Not that I mind accompanying a lovely lady such as yourself, but pray tell, where are we going?"

"We need someone to show us around the city for the best places to spend the New Year. Since you helped us get our work done, and you told me it's your day off, the least we can do is treat you. Link's paying."

_"I'm what?!"_

"It's the least  _you_  can do, since he did  _your_  job."

Malon snatched a wallet from the bar counter and tossed it casually up and down in her hand.

_"Hey! That's–"_

"You've got 400 Rupees right here all saved up, so I'm sure you can afford breakfast for three people."

_"Aww man!"_

Malon threw the wallet at Link. It hit him in the chest as he caught it.

"Now hurry up and take a bath so we can go. Seriously, did you  _swim_  to the Temple of Time or something?"

_"You have no idea."_

Link walked up the stairs to their room, his wallet in tow.

"You didn't have to cover for me," Navi whispered.

_"It's okay."_

"She's your sister, right? You could've just told her."

_"I promised to keep it a secret. If I told her I was looking for the Hero of Time, she'd probably yell at me even more. I'll tell her later when she's not mad at me, and when Rio's not around."_

"Who is that Rio guy anyway?"

_"He's the one who came to the ranch and gave us that fake declaration of war. The one I told Telma and the others about."_

"…Do you think he might be an unknown soldier like Wallace?"

_"I think so, but even if he isn't, I don't like him."_

"I can tell."

_"I knew I recognized one of the voices in my dream, but now I remember; it was his."_

"Really?"

_"Yeah, and I didn't say anything earlier, but remember that guy Agahnim we met in the temple?"_

"How could I forget? That guy was scary."

_"I heard his voice in my dream, too."_

"That's three people, and two of them you hadn't even met before."

_"Three people so far. There were a lot more."_

"What do Chancellor Cole, Agahnim, and Rio all have in common that they would degrade you in your dream? Isn't it weird that you've met all of them within such a short amount of time?"

_"I don't know. For all it's worth, it's just a stupid dream."_

"Are you sure you didn't hear Wallace's voice in your dream, too?"

_"No. I'm pretty sure I'd remember him."_

After a quick bath and change of clothes, Link met Rio and Malon downstairs.

"Let's go!" Malon cried. "I wanna see the city!"

_"Yeah, this is a real dream come true."_

"Don't worry, pal." Rio swung his arm around Link's shoulders. "I'll show both of you the best day in Hyrule City ever."

_"Navi, don't say this out loud, but what's with this guy? He's been standing here grinning like an idiot this whole time."_

"Beats me."

_"Um, Navi. I'm over here."_

"Huh? But you're right here."

Navi hovered over Rio's head.

_"No, Navi, that's Rio. I'm here."_

Navi drifted over to Link.

"Sorry, but you two are exactly the same."

_"No we aren't! I've got blond hair, and his is brown, plus his clothes are way darker than mine."_

"I can't really tell. As far as I'm concerned you both look exactly alike."

_"What do you mean, 'you can't tell?'"_

"The energy you both give off is so similar that it's confusing me. I don't really know how else to explain it."

"You do look eerily similar," Malon pointed out. "The only real differences are your hair and eye color. I bet if you were wearing the same clothes, you'd look even more like one another."

Rio slapped Link's back and laughed, "He's just my brother from another mother!"

"C'mon!" Malon exclaimed. "Let's go and explore the city!"

_"To tell the truth, I'd rather just go back to bed."_

"No can do, Link. We've dreamed about Hyrule City since we were kids! There's no way I'm gonna miss out seeing it for myself!"

"Plus," Navi whispered in Link's ear. "This is a good chance for us to find the Hero of Time. He's here somewhere in the city."

_"That's true. We'd better keep an eye out."_

After a quick visit by Link to check on Epona in the stables, the four of them set out into the city. The morning was still young, yet people by the hundreds already filled the streets, crowding against and shoving past one another. Open-air shops and booths were set up along the paved stone roads outside the high buildings. Festival music filled the air as they passed by stands selling every festival food imaginable; barbeque cucco wings, teriyaki kabobs, dried Octorok jerky, pastries drizzled in syrups, and frozen creams and yogurts were only a few of the entrees made available. The tempting smells of the deep-fried, beer-battered, and chocolate-covered treats wafted through the air and made Link's stomach rumble.

"What's wrong?" Malon asked as Link clutched his stomach.

_"So hungry…"_

"So am I," Navi clung desperately to Link's shirt. "We haven't even had any breakfast yet."

"That's what we're doing," Rio laughed. "The festival food here is some of the best in the world. It's a little pricey, but totally worth it. They give out free samples so you can try before you buy."

"Don't forget, Link. You're paying."

_"I know, I know."_

Despite being forced to treat the others, Link couldn't deny that Rio made good on his guarantee; the oily, fatty foods of the festival were so indulgently delicious that all four of them couldn't help pigging out. Unfortunately for Link, it took its toll on his wallet size.

_"Man, a hundred rupees out the window on just food! Who charges twelve rupees for one bacon-wrapped hot dog? Seriously!"_

"Don't worry, Link," Malon reassured him. "Souvenirs for the festival won't cost as much. I bet you'll still have plenty of money left over by the time we go home tomorrow."

_"Wait, we're leaving tomorrow? Already?! We just got here!"_

"We can't stay forever. This was a business trip, remember? Besides, the short amount of time we have left should only convince you to have as much fun as you can! Let's go see what else is here!"

"I can show you guys some of the carnival games," Rio pointed down a wide street, on which huge colored tents had been set up.

_"No thanks, I'd rather not waste more money."_

"Aww, c'mon Link," Malon pleaded. "I'll pay for a few games since you were a good sport and bought our breakfast for us."

_"Oh fine."_

As they began toward the tents, they passed an empty road blocked off by neon-orange markers.

"Why is this street blocked off?" Navi asked.

"That's where the parade will be," Rio announced. "We can come back and watch later this afternoon."

"Is that where the Royal Precession will come through?" Malon asked excitedly.

"It sure is," Rio answered enthusiastically. "We'll be able to see the Royal Family in person."

"Let's come back here when it does! I wanna see Princess Zelda!"

"How come your so nervous, Link?" Navi fluttered down onto Rio's shoulder.

_"Navi, I'm not nervous, and I'm over here. That's Rio again."_

"Sorry, sorry!" She cried as she jumped off Rio's shoulder and onto Link's. "I'm getting so confused!"

"No problem," Rio smiled, then paced faster toward the carnival tents.

_"Navi, can you hear Rio's thoughts?"_

"Are you kidding? I keep listening to both of your thoughts because I can't tell who's who."

_"Can you tell me what he's thinking?"_

"You better not start asking me what everyone's thinking! Don't be rude!"

_"I promise I won't, but I don't buy that 'prank' bull Rio gave us. If he's an unknown soldier and up to something, I wanna know what it is."_

"I can try, but you have to be quiet so I don't get confused. No thinking anything, okay?"

_"All right."_

Link cleared his mind and dropped behind the others while Navi stared as hard as she could at Rio, who walked arm in arm with Malon.

_"Well? What's he–"_

"Shh! Quiet."

Several minutes went by before Navi groaned in exasperation.

"He won't think anything," she sighed. "He knows I can read thoughts so he's cleared his mind completely. No one is that good at stopping their thoughts."

_"Sounds suspicious enough to me."_

"I can tell you what he was thinking earlier if you want."

_"Shoot."_

"Well, he's really nervous like I said earlier."

_"It doesn't look like he's nervous. He looks calmer than me."_

"He's not nervous like he's afraid, either. He's excited, and I mean really, really excited."

_"What do you mean?"_

"Earlier he was thinking of things like 'I'm tired of waiting,' and 'I want him now.'"

_"What do you mean? Who's 'him?'"_

"It gets really creepy. He kept saying over and over again, 'I want his blood.'"

_"Okay, that's just gross. And he snapped at me because he thought_   _I was queer."_

"That's not even the worst part, Link. I think he means you."

_"What?!"_

Link flinched and tripped on a loose stone in the path. When he fell forward, he caught Rio in his fall. The two collapsed heavily onto the stone road. Both boys groaned.

_"Ow…"_

"Link!" Malon exclaimed. "What're you doing?!"

Link open his eyes, and found he was lying on top of Rio.

"Have a nice trip there, pal?"

Poor Link shoved himself off Rio so fast, his reaction resembled that of a violently startled cat.

"Are you okay?" Malon reached out and lifted Rio up by his arm.

"Yeah it's cool," he replied calmly, brushing himself off. "Accidents happen, right?"

"Wrong," Navi whimpered quietly to Link. "He might be able to block me from hearing his thoughts, but he can't hide his feelings. You have no idea how mad you made him."

She shivered as she ducked into Link's shirt.

"He's so angry I think he'd hurt somebody if he really wanted to…"

Link realized then just how close Malon was standing to Rio.

_"We have to ditch this guy."_

"But how? What do we do?"

_"I don't know, but I'll think of something. Let's just be careful for now."_

He got back on his feet, marched straight toward Rio and Malon and pushed himself between the two.

"Hey!" Malon yelled as she was shoved. "What's the big–"

He pointed to the carnival tents.

"Let's hurry," Rio said cheerily. "The lines for the games get long real fast."

Link made absolute sure to walk in between Rio and Malon the whole time, and the carnival tents grew bigger and brighter as they approached. Many of the tents were big enough only for the few people who ran them from the inside, but some were pitched to stand thirty feet high to hold crowds inside. The bright fluorescent colors of the tents popped out at them, each one declaring a game of its own.

"What's in there?"

Malon pointed to a large purple tent. A red flag decorated the entrance.

"Why don't we find out?" Rio pointed the way as the others approached the tent. Just as they came to the opening flap of the tent, Link felt a heavy shove to his back and fell a second time onto the stone path.

"Geez, Link," Malon sighed as she knelt down to help him up. "You're just not good at walking today, are you?"

"You okay there, buddy?" Rio asked. Link pot a fake smile on as he nodded.

"That's good. Wouldn't want you getting hurt, would we?"

Rio's voice cracked as he spoke, and in that crack Link heard a tinge of jeering. A lead weight dropped in his stomach.

"Link," Navi hissed in his ear. "Rio's really scaring me! Let's get out of here, please!"

_"I can't leave Malon alone with Rio. Just try to relax, okay?"_

"Okay, but I'm starting to feel like I did in the Temple of Time. So much evil…"

"Let's go in already!"

Malon grabbed both boys by their arms and dragged them into the tent. They were treated to an odd spectacle inside. People sat in seats that were set up along the walls of the tent and faced the center where a tall metal cage was assembled.

"What is this place?" Malon asked as she looked around. "Is this some kind of circus?"

"IT'S NO CIRCUS, LITTLE LADY!" An amplified voice boomed throughout the tent. "BUT I PROMISE THE FUN IS JUST AS FANTASTIC!"

A drum roll played as spotlights ricocheted back and forth along the walls and ceiling. When the lights landed on a man standing on the top of the cage, the roll ended and cymbals crashed.

"Someone's gonna play the game!" A voice whispered, and everyone in the audience turned to face Malon, Link, and Rio.

"Game? What game?"

"WHY, THE STAR GAME OF COURSE!"

The man jumped from the cage and flipped several times in the air before landing squarely on his feet directly in front of them. He was dressed in a flashy green outfit decorated with jingle bells.

"My name is Purlo, and I'm the ring master for the STAR game!"

"What's the star game?"

"No no! Not the 'star' game. The 'STAR' game! You gotta say it right!"

"All right, what's the  _STAR_  game?"

"The STAR game is simply this."

As he spoke, Purlo reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handful of colorful orbs. When he squeezed them, they lit up and hovered.

"Wow!" Malon gleamed. "They're beautiful!"

The orbs shot away before they could get a good look and flew into the cage, where they bounced against the metal grating and each other before halting in midair.

"You must collect the stars in the cage within a certain amount of time by using one of these!"

An object dropped out of the ceiling toward them. Link covered his head and ducked, but it landed safely in Purlo's hand. It appeared to be a contraption; a metal hook was attached to a spring-loaded trigger by a long coiled chain within the mechanism.

"With this clawshot, you must grapple your way up into the cage and grab as many of the stars as you possibly can! If you can get all of them within 30 seconds, you'll win a fabulous prize!"

"You should try it!" Rio shoved Link forward. "I bet you'd win no problem!"

"What's the prize if we win?" Malon asked.

"The prize for winning is one of these!"

Another object dropped out of the ceiling and landed in Purlo's other hand.

"A piece of heart! Historians tell us that the Legendary Hero would often collect these in his endeavors to grow stronger! In honor of his legend, we've recreated these hearts to give them away as prizes in our games! The first try is free!"

_"I guess I can give it a try."_

Link nodded.

"Splendid! The lad has accepted the challenge!"

The audience clapped, and several of the girls in the crowd cried in joy.

"Right this way, please! Take this!"

Purlo stuffed the clawshot into Link's hand and pulled open the cage's gate. He walked warily inside, and the gate slammed shut behind him.

"You have 30 seconds to nab as many of the stars as you can! Get on your mark!"

_"Wait wait! How do I use this thing?!"_

"Get set!"

_"Do I press this button here or something?"_

"GO!"

The starting horn went off just as Link pressed the trigger on the clawshot. He flew to the other side of the cage.

_"WHAA!"_

Two stars burst as he flew past them and collided face first into the grating on the other side. The audience laughed at his clumsy expense.

_"Ow…"_

"20 seconds left!" Purlo called.

"Quit dawdling!" Malon called.

_"Right, right."_

He grabbed hold of the grating behind him with his free hand as he aimed the clawshot at another set of stars. He fired, flew to the other side, and caught four more stars. Screams of amazement came up from the female members of the audience as he landed this time with his feet on the wall.

"15 seconds left!"

"There's only a few left!"

Link shot back to the other side and landed on the ceiling of the cage. Hanging upside down, he looked toward the ground and saw one star left.

"10 seconds left!"

"You can do it!" The girls in the audience cried out.

"Hurry!" Malon called.

Link squinted and aimed carefully with the clawshot at the last star.

"5 seconds!"

The audience counted down along with Purlo, and Link fired.

"3! 2! 1!"

He zipped into the last star just as the buzzer went off. A mild cheering rose from the crowd.

"Congratulations! Come on out and receive your prize!"

The gate opened automatically and Link stumbled dizzily out of the cage. Purlo pressed the piece of heart into Link's hand as he staggered past.

Link's dizziness, as well as his soreness from tripping twice, dissolved instantly at the cool touch of the piece of heart. As the piece seeped into the palm of his hand, a collective gasp erupted from the audience.

"How did he do that?!"

"The pieces of heart are just decorations, aren't they?"

"They're not supposed to be real!"

"Job well done!" Purlo clapped his hands, then put them on his hips. "Now, what say we make things a little more interesting?"

_"More interesting than that obstacle course?"_

"The rules are simple."

Purlo pulled twice as many stars out his back pocket this time, and they flew into the cage.

"This time around, you and one of your friends must work together to collect all the stars in the cage. You will only have 15 seconds this time, but if you fail, the consequences are dire."

Purlo snapped his fingers. At the sound, sharp spikes tore out of the ground in the cage.

_"What the heck kind of game is this?!"_

"It'll cost you 20 Rupees to play this round. If you win, you'll get your Rupees back, plus another piece of heart and a secret prize!"

"Let's do this!" Rio jumped up from his seat, ran down to the cage, and leaned his elbow on Link's shoulder.

_"What? No! I don't wa–"_

"It's settled! These two young men are going to take on the second challenge together!"

_"I'm not sure I want to be locked in a cage with him…"_

"The spikes will be removed so you can start the game, then once you both have fired your clawshots, they'll be replaced. Got it, boys?"

"Got it," Rio grinned confidently.

_"No! I don't!."_

They entered the cage a second time and stood back to back.

_"I don't like this…"_

"Don't worry, man. You lead the way."

"On your marks! Get set!"

The horn blazed a second time, and Link fired his clawshot toward one side of the wall. As he zipped up, Rio fired his in the opposite direction. They both collected several stars on their way, and Link heard the spikes rising out of the ground beneath him.

"10 seconds, boys!"

"Come on, guys! You can do it!"

Link looked over his shoulder at a long row of stars above him. He fired his second clawshot and collected every last one on his way. As Link zipped up, Rio mirrored him exactly as he fired in the polar direction and collected the exact number of stars at the same time.

_"Is he…copying me?"_

"5 seconds!"

The audience counted down, and both boys fired up toward the ceiling to collect the last two lines of stars. The hooks of their clawshots latched onto one another, and as Rio and Link zipped upward at the same time, they collided hard into each other.

The buzzer blared, the hooks gave way, and both boys fell to the spiked ground below. A cry rang up from the audience.

"Look out!" a girl cried.

Link twisted his body around in midair and fired his clawshot at the first thing he could find, and Rio quickly followed suit. Their hooks grappled onto the metal grating of the nearby respective walls and yanked them up and away from the spikes in unison.

"Whew!" Malon heaved a sigh of relief. "That was close."

"I don't believe it," Purlo breathed. "No one's ever won the secon– I mean, 'Live life on the edge!' You two have won the second round!"

"Awesome!" Rio jabbed the air with his fist.

The spikes receded, and the boys dropped down from the walls and exited the cage, dropping their clawshots on the ground next to Purlo.

"Here are your Rupees and a piece of heart for both of you!"

Link put the 20 Rupees back into his wallet, and both boys received their pieces of heart. Both bubbled and fizzed as they dissolved into the boys' hands.

"All right, man," Rio laughed haughtily. "Now where's our other prize?"

"Right where you dropped them."

Rio's expression turned to disappointment as he reached back down for his clawshot.

"That's it?"

_"What do you mean, 'that's it?' This seems kind of handy to me."_

Link ducked down to pick up his clawshot, but his hand hit the trigger, so the claw zipped up and grappled a pole high up in the tent.

_"Uh oh! WHAA!"_

The audience members ducked when he zipped passed them on his way up. They laughed as they watched him dangle from the ceiling.

_"Help please?"_

"Just use the clawshot, man," Rio laughed.

Link managed to grapple his way back down, and after thanking Purlo, they all left the tent.

"Maybe I should hold onto those for you guys," Malon offered. "Those clawshots might be more trouble than they're worth."

"No worries," Rio answered absent-mindedly. He was too busy fiddling with the trigger mechanization on the clawshot.

_"I don't really wanna hold onto this the whole time we're running around, but I don't mind for now."_

"Just don't fire them at weird things, okay?"

Link heard whispering and turned around. The three girls from the tent huddled behind them giggling to one another, but when he turned to face them, their faces turned bright red and screaming replaced their giggling.

"It's those boys!"

"So dreamy!"

"Kyaaa!"

They then took off down the street.

_"…O…kay…?"_

Link held tightly onto his clawshot, taking care not to hit the trigger again, as they visited the other tents: dime pitches, balloons and darts, ping pong and fish bowls, duck ponds, high striker, milk bottles, ring tosses, and bingo were just a sample of the games available to them. The two boys proved to be a more than formidable team when it came to the carnival games and quickly became celebrities among the street-goers who began following them around, including the three girls from the STAR game. Their tossed rings and flipped coins always hit their targets, their darts popped every balloon, and every bell they struck rang loudly. With every carnival win, they gained more praise and more followers.

_"I'm not sure I like being followed around like this…"_

"Just chill, man. It's cool."

They were given more prizes than they could carry and were more than happy to give them to their audience. Malon stood patiently to the side and was more than happy to watch them win their games rather than play herself.

_"Don't you want to play, Malon?"_

"Boys are better at these games than girls are," she explained. "Besides, I'll win a lot more prizes if I just let you play for me. Go for the rabbit ear headband, Rio!"

Rio brought a hammer crashing down onto the lever of a high striker. The puck on the other end of the lever streaked straight up and crashed into the bell.

"You win!" The game operator announced, and the audience cheered.

Malon put the headband on immediately and the three went on their way. The morning wound into noon as they went back and forth between the games, but they didn't take notice of the time until they left the Bombchu Bowling Alley with their prizes.

"It's getting late," Malon replied. "We better head back to the main part of town if we wanna catch the parade."

Unlike the other games, she chose to join the boys in Bombchu Bowling and won. She held her prize eagerly in her hand; a piece of heart of her own. She stared at it, waiting eagerly for it to sink into her skin, but it didn't. Disappointed, she handed it to Link.

"Here," she said. "It's no good to me."

"You can have mine, too," Rio shoved his to Link before it had a chance to dissolve into him. "Those things kinda freak me out, to be honest."

Link took both without objection, but when they sank into his skin, his hands sparkled brightly.

_"What the-?!"_

The sparkling shot through his arms into his chest, up his neck and down his legs until he was one giant glimmer. Just as quickly as it happened, it stopped.

"What the heck was  _that_?!" Malon wondered, her arms raised defensively. "Link, are you all right?"

He stared at his hands for a long time before answering.

_"I… I feel great!"_

"What happened?!" Rio shouted in disbelief.

"Dad said collecting pieces of heart would make you stronger. Maybe he just meant you had to collect enough of them."

_"Weird, but cool!"_

"Geez, I wish I'd known that," Rio folded his arms. "I'm keeping the rest I get for myself!"

"Anyways, let's hurry to where the parade is. If we have time, maybe we can go shopping while we wait."

They made their way back to the shopping district toward the blocked off street. Festival music permeated the air but could barely be heard over the chattering of other carnival goers. By now the paved stone roads were so filled with people that Malon, Rio, and Link had to weave their way carefully through the crowds and pardon themselves at every turn.

As they walked, Link noticed a spring in his step that hadn't been there before. His exhaustion from this morning was gone, and his pace was a little quicker than before without extra effort on his part. He didn't have a chance to test his physical strength at the moment, but the muscles in his arms did feel tighter. He was always tired in the morning no matter what time he woke up, but his tiredness always dissipated around this time of day, so that didn't matter much. What about everything else though? Was this really the work of a few pieces of heart, or was he just feeling a placebo effect?

_"Am I really stronger?"_

"Link?" Navi popped out of his shirt.

_"Yes, Navi?"_

"Can I ask you something?"

_"Sure, go ahead."_

"What are 'parents?'"

Link stopped.

_"…Why do you ask?"_

"Because you and Malon were talking about them earlier, so I was curious."

_"Um…well, do you know what 'mom' or 'dad' are?"_

"Not really."

_"Hmm, I guess the best way to put it would be that parents are the ones who take care of you."_

"Well in that case," Navi giggled happily. "I've got lots of parents, because all the other fairies in the forest help take care of me. But I guess that would make me a parent, too since I help them t–"

_"No, it's not like that. Parents are, well…geez, how do I explain this? Do you know who made you, Navi?"_

"The Great Deku Tree and the Great Fairy of Faron made all the forest fairies, including me."

_"That would make them your parents, then."_

"What about a 'mom' or 'dad'? What are those?"

_"Those are the individual names for parents; the 'mom' is the girl parent, and the 'dad' is the boy parent."_

"I guess that makes the Faron Fairy my mom, but what about my dad? The Great Deku Tree isn't a boy or girl, at least as far as I know."

_"I don't know."_

"…Link?"

_"…Yes?"_

"Do you… know who your parents are?"

_"No…I don't."_

"Why not?"

_"When I was a baby and too young to remember, Malon found me outside of the ranch where she lived, so she and her dad took me in."_

"Didn't they know who your parents were?"

_"Of course not."_

"Why not? Didn't the people who made them make you?"

_"It's different for people. We aren't all made by the same parents. Instead, as we get older, we all become parents for our own children so that we can make even more people as time goes on."_

"How do you do that?"

_"Do what?"_

"Make more people."

Link's face burned red. He stuttered to think of what to say next.

_"Um…uh…"_

"Is it that embarrassing?"

_"Yeah, it kind of is."_

"You don't have to tell me that part, then."

_"Thank goddess!"_

"So let me see if I got this right; people like you and Malon were made by your own parents, and someday if you wanted to, you could be make more people and be their parents?"

_"Pretty much."_

"But you don't know who your parents are, the people who made you?"

_"…Yeah."_

"…Why not?"

_" …I don't know. I've never met them before, and I don't know anything about them. I don't know their names, or if they're even alive…"_

"And that's why you came to the city…to try and find them…"

Navi's wings drooped noticeably as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. A soft weep escaped from her throat.

_"Hey, wait! Don't be sad."_

"But it's my fault you couldn't find them before! If I'd just shut up and let you talk for a minute, you would've gotten a chance to look for them in the Temple of Time, but instead I forced you to look all over the city for some silly Hero. I feel like an idiot…"

_"You couldn't help it. The Great Deku Tree told you to look for Him, and I didn't mind helping you either. Raven, the Resistance, Lady Impa; hearing what they all had to say about what's been happening in the city has made me realize just how bad things have gotten for Hyrule."_

Link pulled the dried cloth name out of his pocket and stared at it. The name had all but faded thanks to his plunge into the underground waterway, but the lines of the letter were still faintly visible.

_"As much as I wish I knew something about my parents, finding the Hero of Time is way more important."_

"But what do we do if we can't find him?! Malon said the two of you were gonna leave tomorrow and go home! I don't know anyone else who can help me!"

_"I don't care what Malon says. I'm not leaving this city until I find Him."_

Navi whipped up to Link in shock.

"What?! But, won't Malon get mad at you?"

_"I'm sure she will."_

"You can't mean you'd give up living at your home just to help me find Him?!"

_"I do."_

"Link! You're…you're insane! What'll you do?! You can't live here in the city forever! What'll you do when you run out of money?! Where will you live?! What will you eat?!"

_"I don't know, but I feel strange. I haven't felt like this in such a long time…"_

"Felt like…what?"

_"I'm tired, Navi. I'm just so tired…"_

"You can't possibly be  _that_  tired if you're thinking of living on the streets like you say you are!"

_"No, Navi. I'm not that kind of tired."_

"What do you mean?"

_"I've been living on the ranch with Malon and her dad and uncle for so long, and I'm so grateful that they took me in and took care of me all my life. I have friends, and family, and people that I love, but…all this time…Lon Lon Ranch, the place where I lived, it's never once felt like a home to me. I've always wondered about where I came from, and it only got worse when I found out that I was Hylian. And now that I'm older, it's feeling more and more like I'm not needed at the ranch anymore, like what I'm doing is pointless. I wanna do something more with my life than take care of horses and cows! I'm tired of not knowing who I am and feeling like I'm wasting my life! When I was a kid, I wanted to join the Royal Knights of Hyrule so that I could help people. Even now, I still wanna help people and make as big a difference as I can, and if all that means is sleeping on the streets just to find the Hero of Time so that he can be the hero everyone loves, then I'll do it!"_

Navi stared helplessly at Link, thunderstruck.

"You…you…I–"

She gave up on rationality and folded her arms in a huff.

"You're stupid!"

Link laughed silently.

"You seem so confident, but how do you know we'll even find him? We could spend the rest of our lives searching for him and never find so much as a clue. You said it yourself, Hyrule City is a really big place…"

_"I'm willing to risk it."_

"…Link?"

_"Yes, Navi?"_

"Thank you for helping me. I think I know now what Saria meant when she said you were a really good friend. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't found me…"

_"…You're welcome."_

"Uh oh."

Navi jumped from Link's shirt and looked all around.

"Where'd Malon and Rio go?"

Link looked around and saw no trace of either of them.

_"It's no big deal. At least now we can look around for the Hero of Time without them to bug us."_

"But you said you didn't wanna leave Rio alone with Malon!"

_"…Crap. I forgot about him."_

"I'll fly up and see if I can find them!"

_"Go for it."_

Navi sailed above the sea of people, shielded her eyes with one hand and looked to and fro for their companions.

_"Do you see them?"_

"No, not yet!"

_"I hope we find them soon, if nothing else. It looks like it's gonna rain, and Malon hates getting rained on."_

"If they're here, I'll see them! They couldn't have gone too far, right?"

_"Right…"_

The thought of rain tranquilized Link. He moved away from the sidewalks out of everyone's way. While he waited for Navi's report, he leaned against a nearby building and stared up at the clouds. They'd grown much bigger and darker from that morning and loomed forbiddingly over the city, looking like they might dump their giant loads of water on the citizens at a moment's notice. Link wondered how fast the streets would clear out when it started raining, how quickly the people would duck and cover their heads as they ran into the nearby buildings for shelter. When the rain fell, Malon would be one of the ones running into the nearby buildings.

_"Not me, though…"_

When it rained at home on the ranch, it was all it took to keep Talon and Ingo from dragging Link inside by his feet. He would stand outside for hours and let the drops land on his face and clothes and the bare skin of his arms. He'd run around the racetrack as fast as he could and feel the whip of the wind through his hair. He'd rip off his shoes and stomp his bare feet in as many puddles as he could find and feel the mud squish between his toes. He'd lie down on some thick stalks of grass in the meadow and smile to himself as he watched the drops fall out of the sky by the hundreds. He loved the rain.

But there were no dirt roads in the city, so there would be no mud puddles to splash. There wouldn't be much room to run either, even if everyone else went inside. If it did rain though, he took comfort in the idea that he could probably find an empty alley to lie down in and watch the drops fall.

Without thinking, Link slid down against the building's wall until he was sitting on the sidewalk. The people looked annoyed at him as they moved around to keep from tripping over his feet, but he didn't care. He smiled at the sky, closed his eyes, and let his mind wander. He dreamt of the biggest meadow he could, then pictured himself lying down in the grass and letting the rain soak him.

His fantasy hit a familiar chord with him, so he thought harder about it and remembered promptly where he'd experienced it.

_"It was that vision from this morning. The one that taught me that song, the Song of Storms."_

Link's desire for his ocarina grew ten-fold instantly.

_"How did that song go? Dada daa, dada daa, daa dadadadada daa…"_

It didn't take much for him to recall the song; within an instant, Link was playing the tune perfectly in his mind over and over. The song resonated in his mind as he fantasized himself lying in that stormy meadow. In fact, the song resonated too well.

Link's eyes snapped open and he sat up. His ears picked up the song coming from nearby.

_"Someone's playing that song!"_

He stood up and started down one way, but when the song grew faint he came back and went the other direction. Still, it grew faint.

_"Where's it coming from? Who's playing it?"_

He went past the building he'd leaned against, stopped, and stared in the window.

_"It was coming from in here the whole time."_

He was about to walk inside when he halted and looked back in the window. Several priced items were on display on the tall sheet-covered shelf, but out of all those items, one caught his eye and captivated him. With his open hands pressed on the glass, he gazed dreamily at it.

"Link!" Navi called. "I see them! They're coming this way!…Link? Link, where'd you go?"

The bell above the door clinked as Link stepped inside the shop. A phonograph perched on an end table played an off-key rendition of the Song of Storms.

"Welcome to the Windmill Hut," said a bald man standing behind the counter. "I saw you looking in the window. See anything you like?"

Link nodded and pointed to the phonograph.

"Sorry son, but that's not for sale."

He shook his head, pointing harder.

"Is it…the song you're curious about?"

Link smiled and nodded.

"Ahh, heard it from outside, did you?"

As the man spoke, the phonograph suddenly came to a grinding halt. The scratching made Link put his hands to his ears. The man laughed at his reaction.

"Hoho don't mind my organ! It's old, but it's still got some juice left."

He stepped from behind the register, passed Link, and walked to the phonograph where he picked it up and slung it over his shoulder. With the grinder in his hand, the man wound the phonograph back up until it began to play.

"I'm Guru, by the way," he said as he hummed along with the song. "This song has been in my family for generations, and so too has this organ."

As Link watched Guru wind and play the phonograph, the shop door opened again.

"Link!" answered Malon as she stepped in, Rio following behind. "There you are. It's a good thing Navi found us. How long have you been in here?"

_"I just walked in."_

"Ah, you're name is Link, then?" the shop owner wondered aloud before turning to Malon and Rio.

"Welcome to my shop, you two."

"What kind of shop is this?" Rio wandered from wall to wall with his hands in his pockets, looking at the miscellaneous products on all the shops.

"To be honest," Guru laughed. "It's more like my storage unit. I keep all my junk here out of my house, and if anyone wants to buy it, all the more luck to them."

"Right," Malon rolled her eyes. "Link, let's go! The parade is going to start soon."

She grabbed his arm and began to drag him toward the door, but Link pulled away and raised his hand to her.

"What? There's something here you want, isn't there?"

He turned back to Guru and pointed at the window.

"If there was something in the window you wanted, you can go ahead and grab it out of there."

"Link," Navi floated down into the windowed display. "Don't tell me you wanted this ocarina?"

She struggled under the weight of the instrument, holding it in both hands and buzzing her wings as fast as she could. She dropped it into Link's open hand, and its size fit his palm perfectly.

"Link, you've got a perfectly good ocarina of your own," argued Malon. "You don't need a new one."

He frowned sadly.

_"I lost it."_

"How? When? Didn't you look for it?"

_"Last night, and I looked everywhere but I couldn't find it."_

"…I'm sorry, Link," she said softly. "I know how important it was to you."

"Let me see that!"

Rio ripped the ocarina from Link's hand and held it up in the light.

"Be careful!" cried Guru. "That's an antique, and very fragile!"

"It's kind of pretty," he murmured as he stared at it.

"Yeah, look at that blue!" Malon exclaimed.

"What's with those triangles on the mouthpiece?"

"That ocarina," Guru began. "Is said to belong to the Hero of Time himself. The triangles represent the mythical Triforce."

"All right, mister," Malon put her hands on her hips. "Let's talk numbers. How much are we talking here?"

"That ocarina is priceless in terms of its historic value. The sages at the Temple of Time would love to get there hands on it if they knew it was here."

"Oh please," Rio scoffed. "Even if the Hero of Time  _was_ real, I doubt this thing belonged to him."

"Hmm, yes," Guru answered sternly. "With regards to its true proven value, I assure you that ocarina is of high quality. It's rarity is increased by the unknown metal it's made out of. Metal ocarinas don't normally play very well, especially when made of unknown alloys with unusual properties, but this one does for some reason."

"Why don't you try it out, Link?" Malon took the ocarina from Rio and gave it back. "I always like hearing you play."

"Yeah, I wanna hear too!" chimed in Navi as she plopped down on his shoulder.

"NO!"

Everyone jumped at Guru's outburst.

"You musn't play that ocarina in here! You are free to play it the minute you walk out of the shop, and if for any reason it doesn't satisfy I'll give you a full refund, but you can NOT play it in my shop!"

"Why not? We ought to be allowed to make sure it actually works before we buy it!"

"That ocarina has some rather strange properties. I'm sorry I can't be more specific, but you'll see for yourself once you play it."

_"All right. So how much is it?"_

"Despite it's worth, that poor ocarina has been sitting in my shop for so long and no one's been willing to pay full price for–"

"Get to the point, would you?!" blurted Navi. "We don't need a blasted explanation for everything!"

"300."

"300?! As in Rupees?! Are you insane?! It's just an ocarina!"

"It's a special ocarina."

"No wonder no one wants to buy it, you overpricing windbag! Come on guys, let's get out of here."

Malon took Link's arm and started for the door, but he refused to budge.

"Link, that price is ridiculous! You can't possibly be thinking about buying it!"

"She's right," Navi agreed. "I know you're upset about losing your other ocarina, but you shouldn't spend your money on something so extravagant." She then whispered in his ear, "You're going to need that money to take care of yourself when you stay behind here in Hyrule."

The luster blue of the ocarina gleamed in Link's hand. A silver band was wrapped around the mouthpiece, and on the mouthpiece were those three gold triangles.

_"I've seen the Triforce so many times lately: in the Temple of Time, in the city... I know I've seen it before, but where?...Didn't Rusl show them to me once?"_

"Navi," Malon asked. "What's Link thinking about?"

"I'm not really sure. He's just mumbling to himself about the triangles."

Leaves of an ancient book went through Link's head, and in them he saw the Triforce.

_"That's right. Rusl had a book that he showed me. That was forever ago. I'd forgotten all about it."_

He scratched distractedly at the bandages on his left hand.

"...ink? Link? Link!"

He blinked when he finally noticed Malon's fingers snapping in his face.

"You airhead! Wake up, will you?"

_"Ah, sorry. I'll be there in a second."_

Link approached the counter with the ocarina and got his wallet ready.

"Link!" Malon exclaimed. "Don't be stupid!"

"You can't be serious!" Navi cried.

_"Sorry guys. I don't know why, but my gut's telling me to buy it."_

"You're gut is gonna leave you completely broke! Link, don't be a fool!"

_"...Sorry."_

Malon groaned and rubbed her forehead. Navi drifted down onto Malon's shoulder, and the two watched in disbelief as Link exchanged his rupees with the store owner. As soon as the ocarina was purchased and Link's wallet emptied, the four of them left the Windmill Hut and headed onto the street. As they passed a troupe of sun-kissed performers, Malon handled the empty wallet clumsily in her hands.

"All that money," she said sadly. "Gone."

"Yeah..." Navi sighed.

_"Am I the only one happy about this?"_

"Hey," Rio stopped them. "At least he got something concrete out of it, right? It's not like he wasted his money gambling or drinking."

Malon sighed before saying,"I suppose."

Rio pointed at Link suspiciously.

"You  _can_  play the ocarina, can't you?"

Link nodded.

"Then what's the problem? It's something he can use and use well, and it's in decent condition so it will last a long time, as long as he doesn't lose it."

"Link," Malon turned on him. "You better  _not_ lose that ocarina, you hear?"

He quickly shook his head.

"Now that we're outside, why don't we make sure it actually works? Play something for us."

Link eyed the ocarina carefully. It was bigger and had more holes than Saria's had. Playing it would take getting used to.

_"No better time than the present, right?"_

He put the instrument to his mouth and blew a cautious note. The graceful sound that erupted from the ocarina instantly swelled within his ears.

"Holy shit!" Rio exploded.

"Rio!" Malon gasped. "Watch your language!"

"Oh come on! I know you heard what I heard!"

"That's no reason to curse!"

The sound had startled Link as much as it had Rio. He stopped playing.

"Don't stop, dude!" Rio grinned. "That thing sounds awesome! Play something!"

Link put his lips to the mouthpiece.

"Hey!" A woman's voice called to them before Link could play, and they turned to the source of the voice. The troupe of dancers they'd passed was now looking at them, and from them a slender, dark-skinned woman beckoned to Link. She wore her thick red hair in a tight ponytail on the top of her head. Giant gold bangles decorated her wrists, arms, and neck, and ribbons flowed out from her tight dancer's suit. She blinked alluringly at Link with her sharp almond-shaped eyes.

_"Whoa, she's pretty."_

"You should come play with us!" She called out to them confidently.

"Link, those are gypsies," Malon grabbed his arm. "Let's get outta here."

"Don't be shy, Mr. Hero!"

_"What?!"_

"You can all come over!" The young woman held out her arms as she walked toward them. "We don't judge! Come! Sing and dance with us!"

"What's the harm?" Rio assured. "It's not like we've got anything to steal, right?"

_"Did she just call me...what I think she called me?"_

Before anyone could disagree the young woman had taken Link by his hand and escorted him albeit forcefully back with her. The other members of her troupe went back to clapping and playing their exotic instruments.

"Try and follow along, if you can," the young woman challenged. At her signal, the other players took up a song, and she began to dance.

"Play that ocarina for us, child," said an older man with long unkempt hair and bongo drums. Not knowing what else to do, Link sat down with the performers and began to play.

"Yeah!" The woman laughed. "That's the stuff!"

Her flexible body twisted gracefully as she spun herself around to the music. Link followed perfectly with the other instruments, and the notes that sprang freely from the ocarina seemed to dance in the air along with her.

"Girl!" The dancer pointed at Malon. "Can you sing?"

"I can."

"Then sing!"

"I-I don't know."

"C'mon Malon," Rio clapped. "Sing!"

"Well, okay."

Malon took up a song, her voice joining the exotic symphony of the troupe. Between Malon's soothing voice, the soft notes of Link's ocarina, the woman's rapid dance, and the sounds of the other performers (the banging bongos, the bright pluck of a lyre and a fiddle, and the low blow of a woodwind horn), people in the streets stopped hypnotically to take notice of the performers.

"Dance with me!" The woman said as she pulled Rio next to her. "I need a partner."

"With pleasure!"

The woman whirled around on the toes of her light sandaled feet as she spun with Rio. When he stepped one way, she stepped the other, and the two danced in time as they took hands and mirrored each other perfectly.

"You're really good," The woman smiled.

"I know," Rio replied arrogantly.

"Oh really?" She grinned. "In that case, let's see you keep up with this."

She snapped her fingers. At her snap the performers began to play much faster. Link and Malon stumbled out of time with the troupe, but after a few measures were back in track. She jumped lightly and twirled her arms in the air above her head. Rio danced in time with the woman's nimble moves, but visibly struggled to do performers steadily played faster and faster, so Link and Malon blew and sang harder and louder to keep up. The people watching clapped to the beat of the song, their clapping increasing in speed along with the performers.

_"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!"_

"Hey, Link. Look."

_"I know Navi. He's copying her dance moves, just like he copied me at the STAR game."_

"No, not that. There's something wrong with him…"

_"What are you talking about?"_

"Just look at him."

Link peered up from his playing.

_"What the heck?"_

"See? There's something wrong with his dancing."

_"Yeah, it's weird. He's dancing so fast that he's… blurring…"_

The music finished suddenly while he examined Rio, so Link missed his final cue. Thankfully, no one noticed since the passersby were busy applauding for Rio and the female dancer.

Breathless, Rio asked, "How did I do?"

"Excellent!" she slapped him on the back. "Better as I'd expected."

"Oh really? And what were you expecting?"

"I've always wondered what it was like to dance with a shadow."

Rio's expression suddenly twisted into a grimace at her words, but she ignored him as she turned to Malon and Link.

"Great job on those vocals, sweety!"

"Um, thank you," Malon replied shyly.

"And you, Mr. Hero! Awesome work with that ocarina!"

_"Why do you keep calling me that? Why does_ **every** _**one** _ _call me that?"_

"Hey," Malon interjected as if hearing his thoughts. "He has a name, you know. Why do you call him that?"

"I am well aware that his name is Link."

_"How do you–"_

"But what I'm interested in is whether you know  _my_ name."

As she spoke, she bent in so close to Link's face that he had to take a few steps back.

"Well? Do you?"

He slowly shook his head.

"Are you sure?"

To this he nodded.

"Then I guess I'll just tell you," she decided as she extended her hand. "My name is Din. It's nice to meet you, Link."

Link responded to her extended hand by giving his own, but was baffled when she pushed it away.

"Nuh uh. The other one."

_"You mean my left hand?"_

He tried again with his bandaged hand. As soon as they began to shake hands, Din grasped his hand in both hers and stared hard at it. Her rusty red eyes scanned every fold of the bandage and visible groove in his skin.

_"Red eyes…I wonder if she's a Sheikah, too."_

"Nope. I'm a Hylian like you. I just have red eyes."

_"What the– How did you–?!"_

"I'm a lot more than a traveling, dancing gypsy, Link."

_"…You're not…_ the  _Din, are you?"_

"No," she laughed. "But you're close."

_"Who… who are you?"_

"Sounds like you have a parade to catch."

_"What?"_

Trumpets blared loudly from down the road.

"That's the parade!" Malon cried as she grabbed Link's arm. "Let's hurry!"

"We'll meet again, Mr. Hero," Din called after them as they ran. "Maybe next time we can dance together!"

Link waved goodbye as they headed for the indicated parade route. Humans and Hylians all crowded and leaned over the barriers in order to watch the ensuing procession. Malon pushed carefully past the people looking for a spot.

"I see a place," she said as she moved to the front and made room for the boys. "I hope we haven't missed too much. Oh, I'm so excited!"

Malon turned back to the parade to find herself face to face with a bright mask.

"Eek!"

The masked figure laughed impishly at her before cartwheeling away. The sounds of the city were vanquished when the parade music began. More masked figures followed after, dancing and walking on their hands, jumping into the faces of other audience members as they marched on.

"Whoa," Navi gasped from atop Link's head. "You humans sure know how to put on a show."

Link ducked when several lit torches suddenly flew over his head. Fire jugglers with bald heads and flashy outfits marched in line as they twirled and tossed their torches in the air. Link felt a tug at his pant leg and looked down. He was greeted by a pair of big wet eyes on a tiny boy. The boy stopped tugging when he met Link's gaze.

"Ahh, I'm sorry," the boy mumbled. "I didn't mean to–"

Link lifted the boy up into the air and placed him on his shoulders. The boy laughed happily at his much improved view of the parade.

"Thanks, mister!"

"That's so cute!" Malon giggled. "You're always so good with kids, Link."

Hundreds of performers marched as the parade progressed. Women twirled batons, men beat drums strapped on their backs, floats with dancing figures wheeled by, clowns tossed candy at the audience―at which point Link let the boy down to grab some―and a giant paper dragon perched on sticks danced to and fro down the street. All the while, the music continued and confetti and ribbons drifted down from the apartments of the nearby buildings.

Wild cheering rose up from the crowd when a man, clad in green and riding a horse trotted down the path, brandished a magnificent sword.

"For Hyrule!" He declared, and the audience screamed in agreement.

"Link! It's him!" Navi bobbed up and down excitedly. "It's the–"

_"Whoa there, Navi, take it easy. That's not the Hero of Time. It's just some guy in a costume."_

"Aww, really?"

_"Promise."_

"Darn it all!" She pouted. "They got me excited for nothing."

A long line of white horses ridden by armored soldiers followed after the costumed hero. They waved at the audience as they rode by. Link recognized one out the rest, who winked at him as he rode past.

_"Sir Raven. I didn't know he'd be in the parade."_

Trumpets began to play the anthem of the nation as the biggest and grandest float in the parade approached Malon, Rio, and Link's place in the crowd.

A loud voice declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to our valiant King Daphnes Nohansen Harkinian Hyrule, and the wise Princess Zelda Catherine Hyrule!"

The audience members shrieked as a float decorated in royal purple and blue slowly moved by. Link recognized Lady Impa standing atop the float, looking rather intimidating.

_"I guess if I wanted a bodyguard to protect me, I'd choose her too."_

Beside her in one of the temporary thrones, he saw who must've been the King of Hyrule.

_"Whoa."_

A large man draped in a great red robe, the king's face flushed with joy as he proudly waved and smiled a big smile at his subjects.

_"Now there's a guy who truly loves his king...dom..."_

If Link held anything in his hands, he dropped it at what he saw next. The parade music, the cheering of the audience; all the noise around him drifted slowly away until all was silent. The people around him still celebrated, but he noticed no person nor a thing around him.

Sitting quietly beside her father, Princess Zelda's slender gloved hand swayed back and forth as she waved majestically at the people. Upon her head she wore a gold crown of ivy with a red jewel in the center. Pointed ears rose out of her soft brown braided hair. She wore the traditional dress of the divine princesses; a long white gown adorned with an outer corset dyed purple, and with a navy apron bearing the crimson crests of the Royal Family and the Sheikah tribe.

_"WHOA..."_

The princess' sharp blue eyes cast back and forth from person to person. When they came to Link, they rested. To Link's utter astonishment, Princess Zelda stood from her throne, stepped off of the float, drifted past everyone else around them, and extended her hand in greeting.

"Hello Link," she said. "My dearest friend."

"...Link? Link? Link, wake up!"

_"Huh?!"_

"Ya spaced out, dude," Rio replied. "You all right?"

He nodded.

_"Yeah, I think so..."_

"I don't blame ya, though. The Princess sure is hot, ain't she?"

_"...Did I just hallucinate that whole thing? That was weird..."_

Link looked back up at the float. Princess Zelda hadn't moved from her spot. She still waved her hand in her seat at her subjects. Just then, the float jarred to a halt and the music stopped.

"What the heck?" Malon reacted. "Why'd they stop?"

The spectators stopped cheering and began to whisper amongst themselves.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Is this part of the parade?"

Impa, the princess, and the king looked equally confused. Princess Zelda stood from her throne while Impa began casting her eyes around.

"Link," Navi whispered. "What's going on?"

_"I don't know. And I don't like it."_

Cackling rang through the air. Everyone on the street turned to the source of the laughter. Standing atop a column in perfect view for all to see, was a slim man in a white jumpsuit and a dark cloak. He bowed before the people.

"Now now, people of Hyrule, there's no need to panic," he announced. "But I'm afraid there's been a slight change in plans with regards to your festivities."

"What's with this clown?" Malon pointed her thumb at the interrupter.

Impa took a defensive stance between the man on the column and Princess Zelda.

_"If Impa doesn't like this guy then neither do I."_

"From this point on," the man continued. "I will be your entertainer for the day. You could almost call me a magician in this case, but I would prefer it if you referred to me by my formal name: Lord Ghirahim."

"Who are you?!" Impa demanded. "State your business!"

"Why, don't be impatient, my dear! My business is but a simple slight of hand. Ladies and gentlemen, for my first trick, I shall make his Royal Majesty's life disappear!"

In a burst of black and gold diamonds, the man disappeared from the column.

_"Make the king's life...disappear?!"_

Another burst of the same diamonds appeared on the float beside Impa, and with a swift punch and thrust of his sword, Lord Ghirahim knocked Impa off the float while using his blade to stab the king.

"FATHER!" Princess Zelda screamed.

_"_ THE KING!"

People in the audience screamed in fear and began to scramble madly away from the parade. They shoved past Link and Malon, separating them.

"Link!" Malon cried out. "Where are you?! Link!"

Helpless to move against the fleeing crowds, Malon was pushed farther and farther away. Meanwhile, Ghirahim cackled evilly at the people.

"There's no point in running away!" He laughed.

Suddenly, a shrill shriek came up from the crowd, and they began running the other direction. Soon, people were running in all directions.

_"What's going on?!"_

Link shoved past the panicking crowd and stumbled into an open area. He came face to face with the ugliest creatures he'd ever seen. With wrinkled dark faces and gnarled teeth, they wore ragged loincloths and carried clubs, rusty knives, and other weapons in hand.

_"Bokoblins?! How did they get into the city?!"_

Giggling, the evil gremlins began flooding into the streets past Link. They jumped on top of the heads of innocent bystanders, and pulled their hair. They used their weapons to beat and slash everyone in their path. Everywhere Link looked, it seemed like the bokoblins outnumbered the citizens a hundred to one.

_"Stop it! Leave them alone!"_

Link yanked a bokoblin off the person closest to him and punched it away, but gasped in pain when he felt a ragged sword slash across his hip. He twisted around and kicked the offending bokoblin away.

_"Navi! Navi, where are you?! Navi!"_

He staggered over to and leaned on the nearby float while grasping the deep cut. Blood seeped out from the wound, and he watched helplessly as the bokoblins wreaked havoc on the confused and frightened people.

_"...Damn it! Damn it all! I can't even protect myself, much less anybody else! Why do I have to be so weak?!"_

A dark flash moved past Link and up to the Royal Float.

_"No! Leave her alone!"_

Gritting his teeth, Link ignored the pain in his side as he staggered up to the float. Princess Zelda, kneeling down beside her collapsed father, gazed up in fear at the man dressed in black. He concealed his face with a mask so that only his piercing yellow eyes could be seen. Sharp metal claws protruded from his heavy gauntlets.

_"Get away from her!"_

He pulled himself up and stood between Princess Zelda and the frightening character.

"Step aside, boy," ordered the dark man.

His side screamed in pain, but Link stood his ground.

"Fine. Have it your way."

The claws retracted into the assassin's gauntlets, and his fist rammed into Link's stomach. With the wind knocked out of him, Link fell in a heap.

_"No...gotta stop him..."_

He tried to pull himself up, but his strength failed him and he finally collapsed. From the corners of his closing eyes, Link watched as the assassin approached the helpless princess, and he felt the shadow of unconsciousness creep in on him.

_"Can't...so weak...I'm so weak..."_


	15. Ordona 14: Chamber of the Master Sword

_"Link…? I'm waiting for you. The time has come for you to awaken. You are vital to a mission of great importance…Link…"_

_"The…the blue angel?"_

"Wakey wakey, Mr. Hero."

_"Nngh…what?"_

Link's eyelids fluttered open, but the veil of sleep didn't vanish. A pair of rusty red eyes stared at him from two inches above.

_"Aaah!"_

He jumped and sat up straight. The movement sent a flare of pain up his side.

_"Agh!"_

"Hey, you better watch that cut of yours."

Link squinted in the darkness. A bleak coat of angry clouds covered the night sky, so not a single star lit the earth below. It was quiet, apart from the whispering voice beside him.

He put his hand to his side, felt a thick linen, and followed it with his fingertips. He found that it wrapped around his stomach and shoulder.

_"That bokoblin got me good…Oh no! Princess Zelda!"_

He jumped again, sent up another flare, and quickly sat down again to cringe at the pain in his side.

"Cut that out, would ya? You're gonna reopen that wound if you keep jumping like that."

_"But Zelda! She's–"_

"I know. She's gone."

_"Gone?… You don't mean she's… dead?"_

"No one knows. We haven't seen her since the parade. She's missing."

_"…Where's my shirt?"_

"Over here. I cleaned off the blood for you."

_"Thanks, but…where are we? It's so dark. Who are you?"_

"Link, I'm shocked! It hasn't been that long since we met. Don't you recognize me?"

He rubbed his eyes. Despite the night, he could make out the woman's ponytail and dancer's suit.

_"…Din?"_

"Bingo! Looks like someone's finally waking up."

_"But where_ are  _we? What happened?…Are we even in the city?"_

"You've been out cold for a while. You saw for yourself, right? How that Ghirahim guy stabbed the king in front of everyone, and then how that army of bokoblins flooded the city?"

_"Yeah, but where did they come from? How'd they get in the city in the fi–"_

"Get down!"

Din shoved Link's head onto the ground.

_"Ow ow ow! Not so hard!"_

"Shh!"

They laid still and held their breath, watching the street. Link was about to force Din's hand off when the sound of hard metal hammered. His heart began to race. The metal clomped steadily back and forth; heavily, then lightly, left and right. It grew louder at first, but Link gulped when he realized what the metal sounds were; the sound of footsteps getting closer.

_"What is that? Din, what is that?!"_

"Just be quiet," she hissed. "Don't move."

Link stared out into the street. The clanking drew closer and closer until it appeared from behind the alley corner. The morbid silhouette before them clashed against the menacing cloud cover; a colossal suit of armor had stomped into view. Spikes protruded from the armor's thick shoulder plates, and it carried a fierce pike in its gauntlet. The armor creaked as the helmet turned and looked around. Link froze when bloodshot eyes glared out at him from inside the helmet. His heart felt like it would explode out of his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the armor to raise its pike and slaughter him any second. Instead, it turned forward and stomped away. It was only after the clanging footsteps faded into the night that Din removed her hand from Link's back and they both sat up.

_"What_ was _that thing?! There wasn't a person in that armor, was there?"_

"That was a dark knight. It's a monster of evil created by sucking the soul out of a soldier, leaving nothing but an empty shell of armor."

_"What's it doing here?"_

"Probably the same thing as the bokoblins, and Ghirahim. I'll spare you the details and make a long story short. After the Bokoblins attacked, they were followed by all the other members of the goblin clan; bulblins, moblins, you name it. They all started laying siege to the city and forcing everyone to take shelter, so now there isn't anyone on these streets but us. Everyone's too scared to leave their homes or the buildings they've been locked into. They attacked anyone who's tried to leave the city."

_"_ _Why_ _don't they want anyone out on the streets_ _?_ _"_

"I don't know, but get this; they won't let anyone into the Temple of Time, either."

_"Why_ _not_ _?"_

"Beats me. During the fiasco at the parade, that's where most people headed, since it's nearby and the obvious choice for sanctuary. But when they got there, the dark knights were standing guard at the doors. They struck down anyone who tried to go inside."

_"Sounds fishy to me."_

"Me too, but let's not sit here talking about it. We can't stay here."

_"Where are we anyway?"_

"One of the back alleys of the city. I saw you pass out on the Royal Float, so I grabbed you and brought you here to bandage you up. You're pretty heavy, by the way. Now follow me."

Din stood up to leave, but Link grabbed her arm.

_"Wait! Didn't you see anyone else? Where's Malon?"_

"Malon? Oh that's right, you were traveling with others."

_"Did you see her? Do you know where she is?"_

"I'm sorry, Link, but I was so focused on keeping you safe that I didn't see where your girlfriend went."

_"She's not my girlfriend. She's my sister."_

"Really? I didn't think– no, never mind. If she was smart like everyone else, then she's probably inside, too, worried sick about you."

_"What about you?"_

"Me?" Din scratched the top of her head. "I'm fine if that's what you're asking."

_"Why did you rescue me?"_

"Excuse me?"

_"Why did you go out of your way to pull me out of that mess and treat my wounds? You_ _said_ _yourself that_ _I was heavy to carry, so why go through th_ _e_ _trouble?"_

"Link, when the bokoblins started attacking, I was fighting hard against the crowds to help as many people as I could, not just you."

_"_ _W_ _here are they? Are all these other people hanging out here in this alley with us?"_

"Of course not. They're in the nearby buildings, kee-"

_"Why didn't you send me inside, too?"_

"I had to wrap up that cut of yours, didn't I? You're awfully snappy for someone whose life I saved."

_"It doesn't take hours to wrap a cut, does it?"_

"Well, no but-"

_"Then why the heck did you rescue me if you were just gonna leave me outside with you where you_   _knew it was dangerous?!"_

"Let go of me, would ya?!"

She pushed Link away, and he released her.

"Geez, you were gonna break my arm off!"

_"…Sorry…"_

Link stuffed his hands into his pockets and stared at his feet. Din looked back and forth between him and around the corner of the alley. Everytime she tried to catch his gaze, he looked away. It was a long time before either of them spoke.

"Look, you," Din finally said. "I already know what you're gonna ask, so just ask and I'll tell you what I know."

_"…_ _H_ _ow d_ _o_ _you know my n_ _a_ _me? Even before we'd even met, you knew my name_ _._ _And it's not just my name_ _,_ _is it_ _? You recognized me when we passed by your troupe_ _!_ _You know who I am…"_

"Yes, I do."

_"A-and…you can hear what I'm thinking, as if I was speaking out loud! How can you do that? No one's been able to do that except Navi and Malon, and Malon can only guess what I'm thinking because she knows me well enough!"_

"You already established that I know you, did you not, Mr. Hero?"

_"And that! Why do you keep calling me that?! I'm the farthest thing from a hero_ _you could get! But it's not just you who has called me that; random strangers in the city call me that too and I don't know why! I've done nothing hero-like!"_

Din remained silent while he pleaded with his eyes.

_"Who…who are you? …Why does it feel like I've met you before?"_

"…I'll be honest, Link," Din sighed. "I'm not supposed to be talking to you right now. If my boss finds out about this, she'll be pretty angry with  _both_  of us."

_"Your boss? Who–"_

"So let's just put it this way for now. You and I are a lot more alike than you realize. Yes, I know you, and from what you've said tonight, it's obvious that I know you better than you know yourself."

_"Now wait just a–"_

"How are those nightmares treating you, by the way? Seen Ganondorf around lately?"

_"Ganondorf? Who? No, wait, how do you know about my-"_

"Don't you think it's odd that you can read and understand Old Hylian, a language that's supposed to have been dead for thousands of years?"

_"Din, stop for a–"_

"And why do you think of all the people in the entire city, it was you, a so-called simple farm boy, who was given the task of assisting a fairy of Faron in locating the Hero of Time?"

_"How do you–?!"_

"Has anyone told you to wake up yet, or more specifically, 'awaken?'"

Din began to remove her gold bangles. They glinted as they clinked to the ground.

"And how about that mark on your hand, huh? Does yours bug you as much as mine does me?"

She held up her right hand and it began to glow. Three golden triangles radiated on the back, and for the first time Link could clearly see Din's serious face in that dark alley. His mouth fell open.

_"Who… are you?!"_

"I know who I am, Link. The question you should be asking is, 'who are  _you_?'"

_"…"_

"…thing over here!"

The two of them started at the sound. Link blinked and Din was gone.

_"W-wait!_ _Where are you?_ _"_

"Up here."

His head shot up to see Din standing on the roof of the building above him.

_"You must know something! Anything about what's happening to me! I'm begging you, please! I have to know!"_

"Don't even worry about it, kiddo. The fact that Hyrule City's under attack like this, means you're bound to find out any second now."

She saluted him and turned on her heel.

"See you 'round, Mr. Hero!"

_"No! Wait!"_

Link slammed his fists hopelessly against the stone wall as Din hopped away and was gone forever.

"I think he's in here!"

The light of a latern whisked around the corner into the dark alley, followed by the bright bouncing bulb of a fairy.

"LINK!" Navi cried. "Thank goodness!"

She flew headfirst into his chest, wrapping her arms around him as best as she could.

"I thought I'd never see you again!"

Link rubbed his eyes to see who held the blinding light.

"We've been looking for you since the parade," Sir Raven said as he put down the lantern. "Are you all right?"

_"Yeah. I'm_ _fine_ _…"_

Navi sensed the bitterness of his words and jerked up immediately.

"Link? What's wrong?"

"What happened to your shirt?"

_"What? Oh, it's over here."_

Link snatched his mended and cleaned sweater from off the ground. Din's gold bangles laid beside it, so he plucked those up as well.

_"She forgot these…"_

"Link!" Navi gasped. "Why are you all wrapped up in bandages?"

_"One of the_ _b_ _okoblins attacked me at the parade. Which reminds me…"_

He turned angrily to Raven.

_"Where the heck were you when the_ _k_ _ing was attacked?!"_

"Link, calm down."

_"Or when the_ _b_ _okoblins started hacking away at everyone?! The Knights of Hyrule were right in front of the Royal Float when everything happened, so why didn't you do something?!"_

"Link, listen to me!" Raven grabbed him by his shoulders.

"I promise I will explain everything, but right now we are risking our lives just standing out here in the open. We've got to get back to the tavern before either of us are found. Do you understand?"

_"…Yeah_ _._ _"_

"Good. Now put your shirt on and follow me."

Raven retrieved his lantern and blew out the wick. Navi hid carefully in Link's hair while he fit his sweater over his head.

"Duck!"

They hugged the wall and froze when another dark knight clunked past.

"Can you lead the way, Navi?"

"I'll try."

She floated a few feet in front of them and cautiously lit the area ahead. With her natural light to guide them, Raven and Link traversed through the alleys and down the streets, avoiding main routes where they could and ducking out of sight whenever a moblin or another dark knight approached. They steadily made their way to Telma's Tavern.

"We're almost there," Raven whispered.

They finally entered the familiar alley, and came down the steps that led to the inn. Malon was standing outside the entrance.

"Link!" She sobbed as she rushed out to meet them. "Thank God you're okay!"

"Malon, I told you to wait inside," pleaded Raven. "It's not safe out here."

"I couldn't just sit around and do nothing!"

She threw her arms around her brother.

"Thank goodness you found him! Are you all right? What is this?!"

She lifted the corner of Link's shirt, spying the linen.

"You got hurt again, didn't you?! Dangit, Link!"

_"Leave me alone."_

Link shoved her hand away and marched into the bar, slamming the door open. The people inside jumped, but relaxed upon seeing him.

"Geez, boy!" Telma barked. "You dang near scared the crap out of us opening the door like that."

Instead of Telma's usual crowd of rowdy customers, the tables had been cleared away, and women and children were huddled together on the ground, wrapped in blankets and sharing food. Link's heart broke upon seeing the group.

"Don't you dare treat me like this!" Malon screamed as she marched in after him. "I didn't spend the rest of today worrying myself sick over you just to get pushed aside!"

He sighed.

_"I'm sorry, Malon. I didn't mean it."_

Raven walked in, removed his cloak, and hung it on a nearby rack. Link collapsed into the nearest bar stool, and Navi perched on his shoulder.

_"This is really happening…"_

"Sure is," Telma sighed. "We weren't at war before, but we are now."

_"…Damn."_

"Link, let me look at your injury," Malon begged as she sat next to him. "Please."

Link lifted his shirt for Malon to see, but she furrowed her brow.

"This linen is wrapped too well. Who did this, Link?"

_"Haven't I gotten hurt enough to know how to take care of my own injuries by now?"_

"No. You suck at first aid, Link. Now who did this?"

_"Okay fine, you got me. Din helped me out, until Sir Raven found me."_

"Who?"

_"The lady Rio danced with earlier. You were there, don't you remember? Speaking of, where's Rio?"_

"Boo!" Rio leapt from behind the bar counter.

"There he is."

"Aww, you weren't scared?"

"Rio!" Malon shouted angrily at him. "We're a little busy!"

"Hey, you found Link! Glad you made it back, man. I'd have gone to help look for you, but you know…"

Link fiddled with Din's bangles, looking them over and over.

"Link?" Navi asked. "You know I can read your mind, right?"

_"…"_

"Link, please tell me what's wrong. Your thoughts are so jumbled and mixed up…"

He lifted up his left hand. Finding it still wrapped, he ripped away at the dirty piece of cloth. His hand was clammy and white, but there was no golden glow.

"Hey there, Link."

Ashei moved from the other side of the bar and planted herself in the seat beside him.

"Rough day, huh?"

_"Isn't it for everyone?"_

"Good point," she laughed. "And to make matters worse, the unknown soldiers have gone evil. I knew they–"

_"Unknown soldiers?"_

"Didn't ya know?"

_"No. How are they part of this?"_

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Link," Raven explained, taking the seat beside Ashei. "It's why my troops and I weren't able to expel the bokoblins. When the king was attacked, I turned back to see what the commotion was, but I was attacked myself."

_"By who?"_

"Ain't it obvious? He was attacked by one of his own so-called!"

"I would've been stabbed in the back if one of my loyal privates hadn't warned me."

"Ya  _were_  stabbed in the back, damn it all! I knew those unknown soldiers were no good!"

_"Great, so now we've got the goblins, the dark knights,_ and  _the unknown soldiers_ too _?"_

"Nah, Link. It ain't that simple."

_"What do you mean?"_

"Didn't ya notice while you were outside?"

"The unknown soldiers  _are_  the dark knights. They gave up their souls for evil powers."

"Those dark knights ya saw marchin' up the streets are traitors! No good, back-stabbing, murderous, worthless–"

Raven touched Ashei's soldier and pointed to Link.

"What?"

Link had laid his head on the counter and covered his ears with his hands.

_"A bad dream. It's just another bad dream. Just like Din said."_

_"Hasn't anyone told you to wake up yet?"_

_"Yes, damn it, they have! It's all I want to do! I just wake up from this nightmare! This place is driving me crazy!"_

"Mommy," a girl's voice whispered from the group huddled on the floor. "It's a hero."

Link looked away from the bar counter toward the hostages.

_"Everyone's staring at me…"_

"Malon, honey," Telma beckoned with her finger. "Why don't you help me get some beds ready for these folks? Those poor kids must be getting tired."

"Yes, ma'am," Malon murmured and pushed off the stool.

"I'll go with ya," Ashei groaned and followed them up the stairs. A knock came frome the tavern door, and Raven went to answer.

"Password?"

"Medilia."

He opened the door and stepped aside. The person on the other side entered.

"Link!" Navi finally demanded. "What's this about triangles on your hand?!"

Sir Raven shot a glance toward the fairy.

"I heard you thinking it! You've been thinking about it since we found you tonight! Tell me the truth!"

_"I don't know, okay? It was a few days ago, but I haven't seen them since! It's no big deal!"_

"Yes it is! It's bothering you so much that you won't stop thinking about it!"

_"Navi, shut up, would you?"_

"Wha–Shut up?! Why I–"

Navi grabbed his shirt collar and tugged as hard as she could.

"You jerk! I outta slap you! Tell me to shut up, will ya?!"

"Geez Link, what's your deal? She's just talkin' to ya."

Rio touched Link's shoulder, but he flinched at the touch and turned away.

"Pfft! Fine," Rio scoffed. "Try ta help a guy out…"

Navi released Link's shirt and stomped her feet in the air.

"You jerk! I was worried about you! We all were, but all you can think about are your own problems and your own self! Don't you think we've got more important things to worry about than your stupid triangles or your stupid nightmares?! We're in big trouble! We're locked in here and no one's coming to save us!"

She flew off in a huff, heading up the stairs of the inn.

_"I know, Navi. I know…"_

"Anything new, Adelz?" Raven asked, and Link looked up. Sure enough, it was the same red-eyed individual in disguise that he'd bumped into the previous night.

"Unfortunately, yes. The worst has come to pass."

"With regards to what?"

"His Royal Majesty did not survive his assassination attempt."

A hush fell upon the room. Link clenched his fists tightly.

"Is there…" Raven trailed off, then tried again. "Is there any news on the princess?"

"No. We're searching to the best of our abilities, but she is nowhere to be found."

"This isn't good."

Now it was Raven's turn to put his head on the counter and cover his ears with his hands.

"No king, no heir to the throne, no second in command, no intel, and our army has been decimated from within our own ranks. The only ones we have to blame for this catastrophe are a self-proclaimed demon lord…and ourselves."

_"I'm such an idiot! I was there! I could've saved her! She was right there! I could've saved Princess Zelda and this wouldn't be nearly as bad! But– but…I'm too weak…I'm too weak…I wish I was stronger…I wish I could help! But I'm so confused…"_

Raven lifted his head up and stared into his palms.

"I should've seen this coming…I should've tqntxnu cqn antfaub ofa zlbnyo…"

_"What?"_

Link cocked his head and whipped his head toward Raven.

"Reu vo lfd qru xefje, jqrc jfdyu lfd qrin ufen?"

"V ufe'c xefj."

_"What?! What are you saying?!"_

"V'z bdan bqn'b ryy avpqc. Jn'an ufvep ninalcqvep jn tre, Arine."

Link strained his ears, but no matter how hard he listened, the words coming from Raven and Adelz's mouths continued to string along in gibberish.

_"What's going on?! Wha– what's happening to me?!"_

He slapped his hands against his ears, then out of frustration smacked his head against the bar counter.

"Link? Ran lfd ryavpqc?"

_"Why can't I understand them?! It's like he's speaking another language!"_

He jumped from the bar and shook his head. By now, all eyes in the tavern were on him. Ashei, carrying blankets under her arms, came down the stairs to the spectacle.

"Jqrc cqn qnyy? Jqrc'b jafep jvcq lfd? Link? Link!"

She dropped the blankets, strode up to him and grasped his shoulders.

"Berg fdc fo vc! Jrxn dg, jfdyu lr?! Eriv! Pnc ufje qnan!"

"…Master…"

_"!"_

His eyes zipped to the tavern door.

_"What…was…"_

"…Master…Link…"

He pushed Ashei's hands slowly away and stepped toward the door.

_"I'm not the only who heard that, am I?"_

He looked back at Raven and Ashei, but neither spoke. He turned and put his hand on the door knob.

"Link! Jrvc!"

Malon sprinted down the stairs and grabbed Link's hand.

"Ran lfd vebren?! Lfd tre'c pf fdc cqnan!"

_"Someone's calling my name… I have to see who it is…"_

"Jqrc?!" Navi bobbed in front of his face. "Link, lfd'an cryxvep pvssnavbq!"

"Master Link."

_"Malon, Navi, I'm…I'm sorry."_

He gently took Malon's hand, put it to her side, and looked sadly at her one last time before cracking open the door. He peeked out the crack and saw nothing, so he opened it all the way, and closed the door behind him.

_"Can you hear me, the way I hear you?"_

"Master."

Link ignored the pain from his wound and the darkness of the alley as he followed the voice. He moved further and further away from the tavern until he came to the familiar court, but still, he saw no one.

_"Where are you?"_

"Master Link."

The unnatural voice filled his ears and brain, and he turned to the stairs. There she was, hovering over the landing. Her silk arms flowed like fabric as she levitated. She gazed at him with her blue iris-less eyes. Glimmers emitted from the diamond-shaped gem infused to her chest.

_" …It's you."_

Link took two nervous steps up the stairs, and she drifted away.

_"Wait, where are you going?"_

He jumped up the remaining stairs and followed after her. Every time he moved close, she drifted a little further and further, never taking her eyes from him, and never drifting out of sight.

_"You called for me, didn't you? Why do you keep flying away?"_

He sprinted out of the court and ran after the strange woman in blue.

_"How are you flying? Are you really an angel? Who are you?"_

And so, Link chased the angel. The buildings of Hyrule city whirred by in a haze as he sprinted past them. The clouds above flew as fast as him but never left the sky. There wasn't anyone in the city other than the two of them; no goblin, dark knight, or human tried to stop him, so he kept running. The more he ran, the more his legs and mind went numb.

_"It's strange. It feels_ __…_ like I'm asleep…and I'm waking up."_

A foot flew out in Link's path, and he tripped on it without noticing it. He crashed onto the cobblestone, scraping his hands and knees.

"There you are," a gnarly voice growled. Link flipped onto his back and was face to face with a dark knight.

_"…Wallace?"_

"Now's my chance for some payback, you rotten vermin. The Master will be pleased when I present him your bleeding cor–"

A blinding flash sent the corrupted Wallace groaning and shrinking away. The angel drifted over to the dark knight, glaring angrily at him.

"No malevolent force will interfere in my mission to awaken the True Hero," she proclaimed in her geometric voice. "Begone with you."

"What is this?! I– AAGH!"

Her body's light grew more and more brilliant until Link shielded his eyes. Just when he thought he'd go blind, the light faded and he looked back. The dark Wallace had vanished.

_"Where is he? What…what did you do?"_

In lieu of answering, she looked up and away from him. Link followed her line of sight.

_"You led me here…to the Temple of Time?"_

The lamps of the cathedral weren't lit, but the granite structure glimmered in the night's atmosphere. The marble and bronze statues of the Heroes surrounding the entrance cast their silhouettes against the sky, piercing the foreboding storm clouds with their righteous blades. Link noticed the face of the giant classical clock on the tower; it read five minutes till midnight.

The blue angel drifted up the wide stairs, and Link followed. A giant gold-leaf lock sealed the bronze temple doors tight.

_"Why did you lead me here?"_

"Please place your hand on the seal of the door."

It was the first time she'd spoken to him directly. He followed her direction immediately, placing his right hand on the door.

"That hand is incorrect. Please place your other hand on the seal."

_"Oh, yeah."_

Link lifted his left hand, but before doing as instructed, he caught a glimpse of the back. Three golden triangles glowed there on his hand. He placed his marked hand on the door. The lock reacted by creaking and falling from the door with a clang. The doors groaned as they slowly swung open.

"Please follow me."

She floated through the entrance with Link beside her. Chanting echoed deep from within the temple.

_"That sounds beautiful. I wonder if it's the sages' singing that Sir Raven told me about."_

The eyes of the stained-glass Heroes bore out of the windows and watched them as he and the blue angel crossed the nave of the temple to the altarpiece, which stood ventral of the temple's inner chamber. A deep crimson felt was spread delicately upon its platform, and an inscription of ancient letters was engraved into the black granite face of the altar.

"Now, Master. Stand before the altar you see here, then take the Ocarina of Time from your person and play the Song of Time."

_"The what and the what?"_

"I sense a wavering disruption in the chronological dimension, albeit minute, emanating from your person, and my readings indicate that this disruption is being caused by the ocarina in your pocket. There is an 97 percent chance that this said instrument is the ancient artifact of legend, the Ocarina of Time."

_"Then that means– I knew this ocarina was special! One look and I could tell! I could just feel it..."_

"This 'feeling' which you have identified is more than likely based on your familiarity with the instrument. The signature of the ocarina is ingrained within your intrinsic memory, and so you were able to recognize the instrument, despite never having seen it before in your current life."

_"My current life? I didn't know I had any other life than this one now ..."_

"Now, Master. Take the Ocarina of Time from your person and play the Song of Time."

Link tucked his hand into his pocket and from it, slowly pulled out the ocarina. He noticed the phosphorescent sapphire of the ocarina was the same color as the angel.

_"I don't know the Song of Time, though. What do I...?"_

She looked blankly at him while she drifted above the altar.

_"Sir Raven said something about the song that the sages sing here. I wonder...?"_

He closed his eyes and listened to the song. The monophonic notes sent a chill down his spine as they echoed in his ears, bouncing back and forth against the thick temple. He put the ocarina to his lips, waited for his cue, and began to play. The blue angel began to dance atop the altar to the music of the ocarina. Her sleeves flowed weightlessly as her arms swayed back and forth. She twirled in place with one leg upheld, then leapt from the altar to float above the sealed door. Shimmers of light shot from her body, and as she twirled faster and faster, the heavy door of the temple's sealed room rumbled and began to slide into the wall.

The sages' chanting dissipated as Link finished the Song of Time. The blue angel stopped dancing and the seal boomed opened, revealing the internal chamber of the Temple of Time. A glint of white metal reflected from inside.

_"You're leading me to the Master Sword?"_

The blue angel drifted into the chamber and waited for Link, but he didn't come.

_"We– I'm not allowed in there. It's..."_

She stared blankly at him before speaking.

"Please do not allow your inhibitions to prevent you from discovering your true self, Master. All will be revealed here in the Chamber of the Master Sword."

_"My_  true self? _"_

"Please enter the chamber."

Link hesitantly moved past the altar and into the chamber.

The dome-ceiling of the circular chamber rose high above the rest of the temple. There was only one window in the room, and had there been any moonlight, it would have shined down upon the octagonal platform in the center of the chamber. The platform elevated the floor, and was emblazoned with ancient symbols of Forest, Fire, Water, and so forth. In the center of the platform, resting in a pedestal was a sword of dull platinum.

Thousands of years of sea salt and water pressure under the sea had done little to dull the immortal Master Sword. In fact, the Blade of Evil's Bane looked as fresh and sharp as it no doubt had on the day of its forging. Still, its presence was underwhelming to Link. All the color had been drained from the sword. The black cross-guard had retracted into grip, as if withdrawing nervously from its unexpected visitor.

_"_ This sword is yours to take. Remove it from the pedestal."

_"Wh-what?! Are you mad?!"_

Link jumped out of his skin at the idea. The very notion of stealing the sword had never even occurred to him, and he certainly didn't think it would have occurred to whoever this spirit or angel was. He began pacing back and forth.

_"Okay, so a blue angel-thing from one of my dreams, who keeps calling me 'Master,' just broke me into a sacred temple and wants me to steal one of the most important relics that has ever existed in the history of ever. It's official; I've gone insane."_

"Perhaps an explanation is in order?"

_"You think?!"_

Just then, the door of the chamber rumbled and slid back in place. Link whipped around and watched it seal him inside, with no way out.

"Now that we are within a secure location, and if you should so desire I can provide my personal designation."

Link faced her again just as she took a deep bow before him.

_"What are you…"_

"Fi is the name I was given by my creator, the one who has chosen you for a great destiny. I am the spirit that inhabits the Master Sword, the sacred blade your people have come to relish in your history. Unfortunately, it seems that history is repeating itself for you and your people.

"Many signs have appeared regarding the dark evil engulfing the continent, signs that you yourself are already aware of: the dark knights infiltrating the city, the kidnapping and disappearance of your monarch, the mark of the Triforce appearing on the hands of the designated persons, and the strange dreams troubling you in your sleep. With consideration of these signs, the best logical course of action is for the One Chosen by My Creator to take the Master Sword in hand and purge these evils from the lands."

_"…you…think…I…?"_

"Link, you must accept your destiny and defeat this evil in the name of Hyrule, as the Hero of Time."

Link stumbled back and leaned against the sealed door. He slid down until he was on the ground, and glared at the Master Sword.

_"Fi…you call me a hero, Din calls me a hero, the Resistance thinks I'm a hero, Raven thinks I'm a hero, people and kids I've never met before call me that behind my back; why does everyone call a hero?…Who…who am I?"_

He looked down at the triangles on his hand.

_"Am I really the Hero of Time?"_

"Perhaps your apprehension would be lessened if I were to reveal to you some information: the one called Zelda is alive."

_"What?! She's alive?!"_

"Regardless of whether you currently accept your destiny, you have more power within you than you realize, and in your current capacity you are more than capable of determining her current location and retrieving the Princess."

_"Where? Where is she?!"_

"However, without the Master Sword at your disposal, I'm afraid any progress you intend to make on locating the Princess will be impossible. Therefore, if you wish to assist the kingdom, then the only option available is for you to take the Master Sword in hand."

_"Fine, I don't care!"_

He jumped up and dashed for the sword.

_"I'm so confused and probably going nuts, but all I've wanted to do since I got here is help, and if this sword will help me, then I'll do it! I'll find Zelda!"_

He reached for the sword and was about to wrap his fingers tightly around the hilt, but stopped. Instead, his fingers lightly brushed the pommel, and he retreated.

_"Sahasrahla said only the Chosen Hero could use the sword, much less pull it from its stand. How am I supposed to use it if I_ _… No. Princess Zelda is in danger, and I'm the last person who saw her before she disappeared. I-I'm the only one who can find her! I have to save Zelda_ _…I have to save Hyrule!"_

Link tried again; he approached the sword much more confidently this time, wrapped his hands around the hilt, and pulled with all his strength. With a swift tug, the Master Sword slid easily from the pedestal and was free.

Color returned to the sword immediately upon its release; the blade turned from the dull platinum to an astral white, and the hilt deepened into a royal purple. The crossguard no longer retracted, but instead flared like wings of an eagle. The Triforce on the grip glowed with the courage of its beholder. Light poured from the pedestal and filled the chamber around Link. It enveloped and whisked around him in all directions. Everywhere Link looked, the Chamber and Fi were quickly disappearing. He shielded his eyes from the blinding light and braced himself.

_"Wha-what's happening?!"_

"Do not fear the Light of Awakening, Hero of Time."

_"Who...who said that?"_

His hand dropped reluctantly away from his brow. The chamber, Fi, and the Temple of Time were gone. He turned around, but everywhere he looked, there was nothing; where the chamber had been, it was white and empty, as if he'd been thrown onto a blank canvas. There was no floor, no ceiling, no walls or boundaries of any kind. There wasn't even a sky. The sound of silence burned his ears.

He looked down, and found he was standing in the base of a spring. The crystal water at his waist glistened against the Master Sword clutched nervously in his hand. Two new rays of lights emerged from the water and slowly began to circle around him.

"Welcome to our spring, Hero of Time."

"We've been waiting for you. You're right on time."

_"Where am I? What is this place?"_

"You stand in the basin of the Sacred Realm of the Distant Nebula, home to the three Creators."

"Take the shoes from your feet, young hero, for you stand on holy ground."

Link dropped the sword and ripped his shoes off one at a time, tossing them out of the spring. Instead of sinking, the Master Sword floated lightly on the surface of the water.

_"Who are you?"_

The two lights guided along the spring until they came to the edge, and began to take form. The first grew outstretched wings, sharp talons, and sharp yellow eyes.

"I am Chronos, spirit of Hyrule, guardian of time's ebb and flow."

The second grew massive paws, a long tail, and a bushy lion's mane.

"I am Kairos, spirit of Hyrule and guardian of time's most supreme moments, such as this one occurring right now."

"We are the first of many spirits you will come to meet in the future, who will reveal to you the secrets of time."

"We have brought you here by the power of the Great Creators of Hyrule to make your destiny known to you, and to present you with a gift."

_"A gift? What gift?"_

"This gift."

Link looked up, and felt his knees give out where he stood. It took all the strength in his lowers limbs to keep from fainting.

_"Th-th-th-th-th-th-th-"_

"Yes, the Triforce."

Three triangles, each one as tall as Link himself, rotated on their axes as they floated separately down to him. They slowed to a stop just beyond his reach, spiraling in midair.

_"What do I..."_

"Make a wish, Hero of Time. Wish with all your heart your strongest desire, and hold the Triforce in your hands."

It took Link only a second to make his wish. He blurted it out in his thoughts as he held his hands up to the Triforce.

_"I wish I was stronger! I wish I for the strength to help Princess Zelda, and my family and friends, and all of Hyrule!"_

The pieces of the Triforce immediately glowed in response. They stopped spinning and drifted down into Link's hands, where they joined together and resonated.

"It is a courageous man who wishes for strength to protect the ones he loves and is loyal to."

"And a wise man who recognizes the trials and strife ahead of him, and understands the strength required of him."

"Your wish has been granted."

The light from the Triforce shot into Link's chest, knocking the wind out of him. He closed his eyes tightly and gasped to catch his breath while the light grew brighter and brighter, until finally it faded away.

"Behold! Open your eyes, Hero of Time, and examine yourself."

He opened his eyes. The first things he saw were the gold-plated leather gloves on his hands.

_"What the..."_

He looked down at himself. His old clothes were gone. In their place, he wore a green tunic. Layering it underneath was gold chain-mail armor, a thin white smock and pants of tough corduroy. His hand went instinctively to the back his head, and sure enough he felt the characteristic long cap.

"Do you know what you wear?"

_"Yes."_

"What are you wearing?"

_"The armor of the Legendary Hero."_

"And at your side is the Master Sword, blade of the Legendary Hero which you've pulled from the pedestal, is it not?"

Link stooped down to pluck the sword from the water's surface.

_"Yes, it is."_

"Do you know now who you are?"

_"I do."_

He didn't wait for their next question.

_"I am the Hero of Time."_

"Indeed you are! Look around you, Hero of Time. What do you see?"

_"I see ... The Sacred Realm."_

"Look again, and revel in the change!"

Link's eyes wandered across the area. Before him the Sacred Realm indeed began to change. Where there was once an empty white void, trees and flowers were springing from fresh new soil. Sunlight poured down on the spring and the quickly growing forest. It wasn't long before the surrounding trees were tens of hundreds of feet tall and their leaves filtered soft green light down on the spring and down on Link.

_"What's happening?"_

"Rejoice! Rejoice, Hero of Time, in the change you have brought to this Sacred Realm!"

"The Triforce is an ancient relic that grants the wish of whoever lays hand upon it, but does not discriminate between good or evil. If someone with an evil heart were to have made a wish with the power of the Triforce, then the Sacred Realm would become a reflection of that evil, transforming into the Dark World."

"But if someone with a righteous heart were to make a wish, then the Sacred Realm would reflect that heart, and become the Golden Land. Look forth, Hero of Time, at the Golden Land you have created!"

"Your pure-hearted wish has transformed the Sacred Realm of the Goddesses into a utopia, and has brought about two new events to be remembered henceforth in history."

"The first event is that of the 2nd Great Cataclysm. If someone with an unbalanced heart makes a wish upon the Triforce, then the Triforce is split and the piece which the holder believes in most is left behind while the two remaining pieces vanish to locate the two hearts which most hold dear their respective virtues."

"Despite your pure and courageous intentions, your heart was not yet ready to wield the mighty power of the Triforce as your own, and so immediately after your wish was granted, the Triforce split and departed for your world, the two remaining pieces searching for the hearts of Wisdom and Power, while the piece of Courage remains here and now resides within you."

Link looked down at his hand. Despite his thick leather gloves, he could see the mark of the Triforce glowing brightly on the back, but instead of all three triangles, only the bottom right one glowed now.

"But do not grieve this event, for it is in your favor that it occurs. Because of your unbalanced but brave heart and your wish upon the Triforce, you have ultimately prevented an even greater cataclysm."

"The evil ones intruding upon the city of Hyrule sought to claim the Triforce as their own and use its power to throw your world into chaos. This is a deed impossible without the whole Triforce, and so you have halted them in their tracks."

"The second event is the dawning of a new era. When one of pure heart and good intentions makes a wish upon the Triforce, not only is the Sacred Realm transformed into the Golden Land, but the land of Hyrule, created by the Goddesses, shall henceforth enter an age of peace and harmony!"

"Congratulations, Hero of Time! Because of your actions, the lands of your world will be fertile, seas will be calm, and people will be kind and benevolent toward all."

"But beware, Hero of Time! Before your land can enter into utopia, the evils of your land must first be purged. They are the same evils that hold the people of Hyrule and the princess hostage."

_"Where is Princess Zelda? Please, tell me what I must do."_

"As part of your wish, we have gifts for you to assist you in locating the princess, and in purging the evils from your land."

"The gauntlets on your hands are those of the first Hero of Time, the Golden Gauntlets. These impressive gloves give you physical strength beyond imagination, the ability to lift and endure physical objects weighing more than one  _thousand_ tons of pressure."

"Put away your sword, Hero, and examine your equipped shield."

Link tucked the Master Sword into the sheath strapped to his back. Upon doing so, he felt the metal edge of a shield, so he lifted it from his back and examined it. The blue cover of the shield was lined in heavy iron and decorated with a depiction of the Triforce, along with a red bird, its wings outstretched across the shield.

"In your hand, you hold the Shield of Hylia. This shield is made from the same material as the Ocarina of Time, and is indestructable of all attacks, physical or magical. With your gauntlets, shield, and Master Sword in hand, you will be the harbringer of peace for the land of Hyrule. Go forth and train yourself, young hero, for while you shall become a beacon of light and strength, no amount of equipment is a substitution for skill and technique, or for true strength of heart."

"The Princess you seek is in the place where she calls herself home. Good luck, Hero of Time. May the Goddesses be with you…"

The spirit eagle and lion's forms began to dissipate, and with them went the spring and the Sacred Realm. The light of the land faded away, until everything was dark and all that was left was a blue pillar of light.

Link stepped slowly into the pillar and closed his eyes. He grew weightless as the pillar surrounded him and lifted him into it.

When he finally opened his eyes, he was in the empty city once more. He turned around, and behind him was the Temple of Time. The clock of the tower read midnight.

_"It's only been a few minutes...Happy New Year..."_

There were no fireworks to announce the New Year. No festival music or cheering, or kissing, or wine bottles cracking open. There was only the stillness of Hyrule City, the dark empty sky, and the clanking of distant dark knights.

Link took up a steady run away from the temple. Raindrops began to fall, and by the time he sprinted down the entry steps and onto the street, it was pouring. The wind howled and lightning crashed in the sky, flashing light on the city and revealing the grave expression on the new Legendary Hero's face.


	16. Ordona 15: Hyrule Castle, Part 1

The storm raged violently at the captivity of Hyrule City. Lightning clapped so urgently that in the initial flash the city lit up as if the sun rose. The thunder that followed boomed across the landscape and tormented everybody who attempted to sleep. Drops of rain the size of fingers crashed down onto buildings and the road. Gusts of winds howled and roared, and whipped away at anything that wasn't secured to the ground. The dark knights and goblin clan members patrolling the streets were so beaten down by the bitter tempest that even they had to seek shelter. It wasn't long after the storm kicked into full swing that there was only one brave soul weathering through it.

"Look how bad it is outside!" Malon pleaded. "There's no way Link can make it back in a storm like this! We've gotta look for him!"

"Are ya crazy?!" Ashei exclaimed. "We don't even know where he went, and with all those monsters runnin' around outside, I doubt we'd find 'im alive!"

"Sir Raven, I'm begging you!"

Malon dropped to her knees and clasped her hands together.

"He's my brother gone off who knows where! He's hurt, and he's probably in trouble!"

"Malon," Raven sighed. "Please wait a-"

"FINE!" She screamed. "If no one will help me then I'll find him myself!"

She split toward the door.

"Malon!"

"You can't stop me!"

Malon grabbed the door handle and was about to tear it open when a deliberate knock came from the other side.

"Link!" She cried and ripped the door open.

"MALON! DON'T!"

"Thank goodness you're-"

She froze on the spot.

"I should think you'd ask who was knocking before you would so quickly allow someone entrance, girl. Especially considering the current circumstances. You're lucky I'm not an intruder with ill intentions."

Malon stepped back from the door and fell to her knees.

"Forgive us, Lady Impa," Raven sighed. "Please come in."

Malon broke into dry sobs on the floor. Impa stepped over her as she strode into the bar.

"Care to explain why you allowed such a breach in security?"

"It's nothing, Lady Impa. What news do you bring?"

"I came only to get out of the rain, and to check in. Now what's going on?"

Raven groaned and rubbed his forehead.

"It's Link. We finally found him, but he ran out of the bar about ten minutes ago, and we haven't seen him since."

"Why am I not surprised? Adelz, I want a word with you."

"Yes, ma'am."

Adelz stood from zis seat at the bar and approached. The two spoke in hushed voices.

"This is all my fault," Navi moaned, her little wings drooping. She sat on Din's gold bangles that Link had left behind on the bar.

"I wish I'd never yelled at him."

* * *

Talon's eyes rolled out of his reeling skull.

"Errhh, ma head."

He rubbed his crusty eyelids, sat up in bed, and looked around the dark room with its bleak furniture. The bed beside his was empty, as was the makeshift spot on the floor.

"Malon? Link?"

No one answered. Talon rolled out of bed and knocked roughly on the wall. He expected someone in the next room to shout back angrily, but it was quiet. The only sound he heard was the roaring storm outside.

"Dang. How long've I been asleep?"

He staggered toward the door, stepped into the hallway, and stumbled down the stairs.

"There y'all are," he chuckled. "When I didn't hear nothin' from upstairs', I was afraid y'all had gone away or somethin'."

The few people left in the bar stared at Talon as he came down the stairs. Ashei rolled her eyes and twirled her finger indicatively around her ear.

"Welcome back to the world of the livin', hon," Telma said gruffly.

"…Was it somethin' I said?"

"DAD!" Malon shouted angrily. "Have you been asleep ALL DAY?!"

"Not so loud," Talon grimaced. "Ma head hurts like crazy."

"GOOD! You deserve a hangover after all your drinking last night!"

"Now girl, don' chu-"

"You IDIOT!" She pointed a trembling finger at him. "While you were lazing the day away, I had to do all the work for the ranch by myself! And worse, Hyrule City's in danger!"

Talon's face went numb.

"What'd you say?"

"Hyrule City's under attack! The king was killed in front of everybody and Princess Zelda was kidnapped, and now there are monsters roaming the streets and Link's disappeared and no one will do anything!"

She threw her face into her hands and wept.

"Link, you stupid jerk! Why'd you have to run away?!"

Talon's face twisted into a solemn expression. He approached his daughter and wrapped his burly arms around her.

"Oh, Malon, I've been such a fool. I wish I could get you to understand, darlin', but there's no words for the pain I've felt these last few days. I know where Link's gone to."

Malon turned to her father and grabbed him.

"Dad, where's Link?! Please tell me!"

Before Talon could answer, a soft knock came at the door.

"Oh, what is it now?!" Ashei threw her hands in the air.

"Password?" Raven called as he approached the door.

There was no answer.

"I can't let you in if you don't-"

"Wait!" Navi leapt from her seat and flew to Raven. "It's Link! I can hear him!"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive!"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Malon demanded. "Let him in!"

"What? Yes, she's here… Are you sure? …Link, are you okay? You're acting really weird."

"What's he saying, Navi?"

"He says he can't come in yet."

"Why, of all the-"

"He wants to talk to Impa."

Raven raised his eyebrow and looked over at the equally confused Sheikah.

"Can we ask why?"

"He won't tell."

Navi's eyes opened wide and she threw her hands on the tavern door.

"What?! You kn- all right, I won't, geez! How do you know she knows?… Link, you're not making any- …All right, I'll tell them."

She turned away from the door to the enthralled group.

"He just says he wants to talk to Impa. He won't let me say why, but it's really important."

"Oh, for goodness sake!" Telma barked. "There ain't nobody here gonna spill the beans on whatever big secret you two have! Now spit it out, already!"

"He knows how to find Princess Zelda."

"He  _what?!"_ Raven stuttered. "Impa, is he…"

"I won't know for sure until I talk to him face to face, which clearly won't happen until I honor his wishes and go out there in person."

"I'll go with you," Navi offered.

"Good. Maybe we can put an end to this nonsense once and for all."

With Navi perched on her shoulder, Impa pushed Raven aside and exited the tavern, closing the door roughly behind her.

"Link of Lon Lon Ranch, I am not a patient woman, and in the one day I've known you, you have brought what little patience I  _do_  have crashing down. You've caused more trouble and distress than any other teenager I've ever met. Now if you don't explain what this is all about, I-"

She paused when she held her lantern up to see him.

"…Excuse me, Link. I need a moment to extract my foot from my mouth."

"L-L-L-LINK! YOU–"

Navi shot into Link's face, and darted all around him.

"What happened to your clothes?! And that shield! And that sword! H-h-h-how did you–?!"

_"Yes, Navi. I have the Master Sword."_

"Bu-bu-bu-but why?!"

_"Isn't it obvious?"_

"Link…I–"

Link shrugged nervously.

_"You said you were looking for the Hero of Time. Here he is."_

Navi would have stammered on forever if Impa had not intervened.

"Link," she began very carefully. "What happened?"

_"It's a long story. I'll tell you la–"_

"No. You will tell me now. This very moment."

She folded her arms. She wasn't angry, but her eyes still bore into him. The wrinkles in her face and neck stood out now than ever before.

Link had seen Impa enter the tavern. He'd watched her from around the corner of the alley, and had stood there gathering the courage to knock and request an audience with her. It was because of the respect she demanded, that he knew she was the best candidate to believe the incredible events he'd just experienced, even if it hadn't been for her 'truth-seeing' eyes. But there was another reason, too.

_"You told me when we first met that you're Zelda's adviser, right?"_

"Yes, I did."

_"How well do you know her?"_

"I have raised Princess Zelda from the moment her mother died in labor. I've fed her, cared for her, tutored her in the ways of law, politics, philosophy, magic, and just about every other learned field you can imagine. I'd like to think I know her relatively well. Forgive me if I seem blunt, but today's events have left me feeling irritable, and I'm standing in front of someone that Hyrule has not seen in well over a thousand years."

_"I just wanted to know before I tell you all that's happened."_

"Please do."

Link tread carefully to fill in as many details as he could, starting from the moment he woke up in Din's care, and describing Fi, following her to the Temple of Time, retrieving the Master Sword, and his journey into the Sacred Realm. It grew more difficult for Navi to relay Link's words as she became breathless from shock, but Impa's expression did not change when his story delved into the supernatural. She did not interrupt Link or Navi once. She stood rigid and listened to Navi while glaring at Link. When they finished, she said nothing at first, but continued to stare at him.

"You do realize that were it not for my abilities, I would call you the greatest liar the world has ever seen."

Link laughed nervously.

"Although, even if it weren't for my abilities, I'd still be inclined to believe you simply because of the sword on your back. Would you mind?"

Link drew the Master Sword and held it flat in his hands. Impa was no fool; she did not touch the blade. Instead, she held her hands over it and began to focus. Magic resonated from her fingers, and when the Master Sword reacted by glowing, she quickly pulled away.

"There is not doubt about it," she whispered. "You are the true holder of this sacred blade, Link of Lon Lon Ranch. Or should I call you the Hero of Time?"

She suddenly bent to one knee and bowed deeply before him.

_"P-please don't, Lady Impa. That's not necessary."_

"Allow me this one small courtesy, my boy," she answered as she stood upright. "For it is all I can give you. If the question does not seem out of the blue, how do you feel?"

_"I'm sorry?"_

"What are your feelings regarding your sudden responsibilities? Are you happy, angry, surprised?"

_"To be honest, I'm terrified."_

"Good," she put her hand on his shoulder. "It is an arrogant fool who does not fear for a great burden he has been given. While you have tried my patience today Link, and I do mean greatly, you are neither arrogant nor a fool. And let me say that it was a wise decision to come to me first in this situation. If you had strolled leisurely into the tavern without a care of your surroundings, if nothing else, you would have given everyone inside a good deal of shock."

_"I know."_

"And I can see in your eyes your fear. I don't know why the Goddesses have chosen you for this ordeal, and likely you don't either, at least not yet, but if they trust you then so too do I. It would be a great honor to assist you in any way I can."

_"I was hoping you'd say that. Thank you, Impa."_

"Believe me when I say you are more than welcome."

_"I asked about your relationship with the princess because I need your help. When I asked the spirits where I could find her,_ _all_ _they said_ _was,_ _'you will find her in the place she calls home.' Do you know any place like that?"_

Impa put her hand to her chin and groaned.

"God forgive me, but those blasted spirits couldn't have been more cryptic if they tried."

"This is so cool," Navi whispered. Link and Impa both looked at her in annoyance.

"Sorry." She turned bright red and sat embarrassingly on Link's shoulder.

"Princess Zelda was born in Hyrule Castle and has spent the majority of her life within its walls. If she would consider any location her home, it would be there."

"Of course!" Navi jumped up. "If those evil guys kidnapped Princess Zelda, then the castle is the last place anyone would think to look for her! If I was gonna kidnap her, that's where I would take her."

"Unfortunately, what you've said makes me worry more about Her Majesty. Not too many people outside of the Royal Family and myself know the true secrets of the Triforce, and since you claim to have made a wish on it, then she is in even more danger than before."

_"Why's that?"_

"The Spirits warned you that the same evil forces who kidnapped Her Majesty are also searching for the Triforce. That means their only purpose for capturing the Princess was to hold her hostage until we gave it to them, but since you've made a wish on it, they no longer have a reason to hold her as their hostage."

_But why not? Isn't that a good thing? What does my wish have to do with them?"_

"The Triforce is a powerful, magical relic indeed, but it is not omnipotent. It has to adhere to many of the same laws of physics that we mortals do. It takes a lot of energy for the Triforce to grant a wish, and it has an extended cool down time. Once a wish has been made, another one cannot be made for one hundred years."

"Which means that the bad guys can't make whatever wish they want," Navi realized. "And if they can't get what they want, they'll never give Princess Zelda back."

"Not alive, anyway. If they find out about the Triforce's condition, they'll likely dispose of her before we can reach her, and if she dies, Hyrule will be without its most important leader."

"That's bad. Really, really bad."

_"Fi."_

The blue maiden back flipped out of the Master Sword.

"You called for me, Master?"

"Whoa!" Navi jumped back. "Who's  _this_  lady?"

_"Is Impa right about Princess Zelda?"_

"Affirmative. The reasoning behind her guess as to Princess Zelda's location and condition is quite sound, and under the circumstances I can confirm that Lady Impa's guess has an 82 percent chance of accuracy."

_"Then it's settled. Navi, we're going to Hyrule Castle."_

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Adventure time!"

"And just how do you intend to reach the castle? Many dark knights stand guard at its entrance and will not allow anyone inside. I doubt they'd make an exception for you."

_"We'll get there the same way we did this morning."_

Link walked past Impa and pulled the tavern door open. As he did, Ashei and Malon tumbled out and collapsed into a pile.

"Did you get a good earful?" Impa asked, smirking. Caught red-handed, Malon's face turned bright red as she picked herself up and brushed the dirt from her dress. Ashei had a far different reaction.

"HOLY MOTHER OF FARORE! YOU–"

Impa streaked over and clasped her hand over Ashei's mouth. She could barely move under Impa's strong arm.

"Don't be a fool! Do you have any idea how many dark knights you'll call to us if you go announcing it to the world?! Calm yourself, Ashei, for the safety of everyone here!"

Ashei bit Impa's hand, who let go.

"I know that, I ain't stupid! But look at him for crying out loud!"

Link stepped past them into the tavern. Raven was sitting at the bar drinking from a glass of water in his hand, but as soon as he saw Link, he spat.

"What the?!"

"Remember what I said about giving everyone a heart attack, Link?"

"Link," Malon breathed. "What are you wearing? Why…"

He ignored her and pointed to the crawlspace above the fireplace.

_"We can get to the castle from there."_

"Oh yeah!" Navi cried. "That's how we got to the castle this morning when we met you, Impa! If we follow the same path, we can get into Hyrule Castle and find Princess Zelda!"

"Understand, Link, that right now Hyrule Castle is the most dangerous place in the city. It is where the highest concentration of goblins and dark knights reside, and if you are caught they will likely try to kill you. Are you sure the two of you can handle it?"

_"I sure hope so. If Princess Zelda isn't in the castle, then…"_

"Link," Impa put her hand on his shoulder before sending him off. "Are you sure you're up for this? I can't imagine how hard this must be for you."

_"I'm scared…but at least I'm not alone."_

"That's right!" Navi agreed. "I'll be there to help!"

"And you have my support as well," Impa smiled.

"And mine too!" Ashei cheered as she wrapped her arms around Link and lifted him up in a crushing bear hug.

"I knew you were somebody special the momen' I laid eyes on you!"

_"Ack! Can't breathe! Ashei, your armor hurts!"_

_"Master,"_  Fi's voice echoed in his head as Ashei released him.  _"I may know of a way to assist you in your mission to locate the princess."_

She appeared before him and continued.

"The Master Sword contains an ability to dowse for and locate hidden objects and persons with limited regions. The Ocarina of Time contains trace amounts of the Royal Family's spiritual signature. If you let me analyze it further, I may be able to absorb that signature and use it to locate Princess Zelda."

"Good idea," Impa replied. "With the sword spirit's help, you'll be able to navigate the castle safely without fear of getting lost or running into an enemy."

Link pulled the ocarina from his pocket and presented it to Fi. A soft whirring buzzed from her lips, then she turned and sent out a low, cracking whistle.

"According to my calculations," she declared. "Princess Zelda's location is approximately two kilometers northeast."

"That's the direction of the castle. No doubt about that."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Navi cried. "Let's go!"

"Hey Link!"

Rio jumped from behind the bar counter. In his hands were the two carnival prizes, the clawshots.

"You better take these. You never know when they'll come in handy."

_"Thanks."_

"Link?"

Malon's trembling hands were clasped together as she approached him nervously.

"Wh-why? What are you…?"

Link stuffed the ocarina back into his pocket and hugged her tightly.

_"I'm sorry, Malon. I can explain everything, but I really have to go. I'll be back soon, okay?"_

It was a long time before he let her go. He fired one clawshot, flew into the tavern rafters, and ducked into the crawlspace.

_"I'll come back! I promise!"_

With his final word, he pulled himself on his elbows into the dark tunnel and was gone.

"Impa," Malon shuddered. "Dad. What's…"

"Adelz," Impa signaled, and ze approached.

"Shall I follow after him?"

"Please do. Provide him assistance if he needs it, but do not make yourself known."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Adelz disappeared in a shadowy flash.

"Lady Impa," Raven protested. "Is that really necessary?"

"You saw for yourself how he handles himself in confrontations, Sir Raven."

"But he has the Master Sword now. Surely he can handle himself?"

"Master Sword or not, he is just a boy. The Goddesses have entrusted him with a most difficult and important task, and until he has the skill and maturity to handle it himself, I will give him all the help he requires, whether he wants it or not."

"Forgive me for saying this, Milady, but you're decision is biased."

"And so is yours."

Impa's eyes flashed at Raven.

"I and everyone in Hyrule City care as much for the princess and for the Hero of Time just as much as you do. Do  _not_  think your family circumstances make you any the wiser."

* * *

Link was out of the crawlspace and in Jovani's abandoned home within seconds. The rug thrown on the other side of the room and the lifted trapdoor cover were both as he left them yesterday morning.

"Link," whispered Navi. "I think someone's following us."

_"Do you know who it is?"_

"…No. Whoever they were, they just disappeared."

_"Could you tell if they were bad or good?"_

"No. They were so fast, I couldn't read their thoughts."

_"Then let's keep our eyes open. I don't want anybody getting in the way."_

Link took two steps across the tiny room, his rain-soaked leather boots squelching on the creaky wooden boards. He jumped into the trapdoor and plunged into the water system below. This time, he did not struggle against the current. He swam along with the water, kicking his legs and pumping his arms as he went further into the waterway. He felt himself drop with a waterfall and into a deep pool below, so he swam upward and resurfaced, and found himself once more at the bottom of the castle tower.

He wasn't alone. Link pulled himself up onto the metal grating floor nearby and was immediately confronted by a squadron of bokoblins. They were upon him before he could remove the Master Sword from its sheath.

One bokoblin charged at him with a rusty dagger, but he knocked it away with his arm. Two more attacked, then four more, and before Link could push them all away, they grabbed at his arms and legs.

_"Get off of me!"_

Link yanked out the Master Sword and swung it wildly at his attackers. The bokoblins released him and looked knowingly at one another, sniggering.

_"Navi, can you tell what they're thinking?"_

"They're laughing because think you have no idea how to use a sword."

_"Oh, like they'd know."_

Link grasped his sword in both hands and swung as hard as he could. Three unlucky bokoblins were caught in the reel, and he half expected them to be sliced in half. However, the moment the Master Sword made contact with their skin, their bodies exploded in a puff of sparks and smoke.

_"What the heck?"_

The remaining bokoblins shrieked upon seeing their comrades disappear, and clawed and climbed over each other to retreat.

_"Navi, what are they thinking now?"_

"Are you gonna make me translate for everyone and everything you meet?"

_"C'mon, please?"_

"Good grief. They're scared of your sword because they recognize it. They saw how it killed their friends and now they know you're the Hero of Time."

_"They're trying to ru_ _n_ _, but they can't get away. What should I…"_

"Destroy them, Master," Fi's voice answered.

_"What?"_

"If you had not defended yourself with your sword, they would have tried to kill you. And if we had not entered into the water system when we had, they would have ventured into the city to cause harm to those living here."

_"They're not gonna do any of that now, though. They look scared. I don't think I can kill them…"_

"Do not show mercy to those who would betray it at the first opportunity, Master. These bokoblins have nothing but evil intentions, and if you allow them to go free, they will continue into the city and hurt innocent civilians."

Link held down his sword and hesitated, and as he did, one bokoblin flung its club wildly at him. Fi jumped out of the Master Sword and spread her arms, and a flash of light erupted from her body. The attacking bokoblin, along with the others, screamed in pain. When the light vanished, so did the bokoblins.

"Whoa…" Navi gasped.

_"Fi, what did you do?"_

"I purged them," she explained. "With the inherent abilities contained within my residual body, the Master Sword."

_"You did the same thing to Wallace earlier, right?"_

"Correct, Master. The Master Sword is a magical blade crafted by the hands of the Goddess of Hyrule and by the very first Chosen Hero. It is just as capable of piercing through biological material as any physical sword, if not more so, but its magical abilities allow it to judge and eradicate on contact anyone with corruption in their hearts.

"And just as the Master Sword can destroy evil on the spot, so can I, the Spirit of the Blade. Its abilities are mine, for we are one and the same."

"Link, this is all very fascinating, but…"

Navi pointed up into the dreadfully tall tower.

"How are we gonna get all the way up there again? It took you forever to climb up to the top last time, remember?"

_"We're not gonna climb this time."_

"Huh?"

Link plucked the two clawshots from his belt and fired one at the stone wall. The chain shot out, the claw tightly grasped some of the climbing vines, and Link flew up into the tower. He came to a stop as soon as his feet hit the wall.

"Oh yeah! With your clawshots, we'll make it to the top in no time!"

"Based on the speed of your trajectory," explained Fi. "And the estimated height of this tower, I can positively confirm with an 86 chance that we should arrive at the top of the bastion within six minutes, Master."

Link alternated his second clawshot, then the first and second again. He flew back and forth between the tower walls as he went up and up and up. It wasn't long before he passed by the open window and saw the great storm outside.

_"All that pretty rain, and I can't even enjoy it. I wonder if_ _Princess_ _Zelda likes rain."_

"Link?"

_"Yes, Navi?"_

"Well, once we find Princess Zelda, will you come back with me to the forest?"

_"Huh?"_

"It's the whole reason I came to the city, remember? I had to find the Hero of Time and bring him back to meet the Great Deku Tree. He needs you to destroy whatever evil is trying to destroy Hyrule."

_"I_ _bet the ones who kidnapped Zelda are_ _the same_ _ones_ _whom the Great Deku Tree_ _and the Spirits were_ _talking about."_

"Maybe. So will you go with me?"

_"To be honest, Navi, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I just accepted a really big responsibility, one that'll change everyone and me forever. Any plans I had for the near future have gone out the window, not that I was really planning anything when it came to my life, but still."_

"Please Link!" Navi tugged on his green sleeve. "It's really important! He didn't let much one when I was talking to him, but I really think the Great Deku Tree is in danger!"

_"Why don't we start by finding Zelda first? I promise I'll get to the Great Deku Tree as fast as I can, but I…there's only so much I can do…"_

"Link…"

_"Master,"_  Fi began.  _"You are not feeling well?"_

_"I don't know what I feel. Yesterday I was just a stupid ranch boy feeling sorry for himself, and now I'm suddenly everyone's Chosen Hero. The time_ _that_ _I've spent in the city has been really humbling. It's made me realize just how selfish I've been…"_

"Selfish?! Link, how could you go and say a thing like that?! You are anything but selfish!"

_"But-"_

"You stopped for a random fairy you found on the street to help her find one person out of a million, and in the end you ended up being that one out of a million! You're a really nice guy, Link, even if you weren't the Hero of Time."

"She is correct, Master. The Goddesses themselves recognized the honorable qualities that grew within your spirit as you became an adult. It is why they have chosen you for this great destiny. You may not have confidence in yourself, but you have divine intervention on your side."

Link looked back and forth quietly between his companions, then continued claw-shooting up the tower, zipping past another open-shuttered window. Lightning flashed outside, and thunder followed.

"I had hoped that the Chosen Hero's apprehension would have diminished by now," Fi said to no one. "I need to recalculate."

Navi followed after Link as he zoomed up.

"Link? What's up with the sword lady?"

_"Sword lady? You mean Fi?"_

"Yeah, her. What's her deal?"

_"She's the spirit of the Master Sword, I guess. Why?"_

"Why does she speak that weird gibberish?"

_"Weird gi- Navi, she speaks fine."_

"No she doesn't. I can't understand a word that comes out of her mouth. She sounds the way you did right before you ran out of the tavern."

_"You mean you can't understand her? Fi, what's going on?"_

A soft whirring came from Fi's mouth before she spoke.

"It has been many years since I last absorbed any languages into my memory, Master. I speak an ancient Hylian dialect that I can only estimate has been dead for centuries, if not millenia. With some extended time in this period, I should be able to attain the dialect which you and your fairy guardian use to communicate."

_"Then you can't understand Navi either?"_

"Not at the moment, Master."

_"But how can I understand you? I speak Old Hylian, but no one ever taught it to me. When did I learn?"_

"I lack the information required to assess that data, but I will provide an answer to your question as soon as I can. Please don't hesitate to come to me with any further inquiries you may have, Master."

With her evaluations complete, Fi disappeared into the sword.

"What did she say?"

_"She just said she speaks another language, that's all."_

"Well I coulda told you that! What language does she speak?"

_"Old Hylian."_

"I guess that makes sense. But what about Impa?"

_"Impa? What does she have to do with this?"_

"When we were in the inn, Fi said something to you but Impa looked like she understood."

_"Impa's a smart lady; I bet she's learned the language at some point in her life, and even if she hasn't, I bet she could tell with her Sheikah eyes."_

"I guess that makes sense."

Navi trailed behind in silence while Link made his way up. When he came to the top floor, he saw no more vines for his clawshot. Worse, there were more bokoblins waiting for him.

"Oh great. Now what?"

_"The grate. That's what."_

"What?"

Link fired up toward the floor. The claw grappled onto the grating, and he zipped up until he was dangling from the bottom of the metal floor.

"Link! Look out!"

The bokoblins above stomped over to him and began smashing the clawshot with their feet and swords.

_"Hey! Stop that!"_

Link released the clawshot and reached out to grab the grating in front of him before the bokoblins could stomp on his fingers. He dangled his way over to the edge of the floor with the bokoblins in pursuit above, jabbing through the grating with their ragged swords. He yanked himself up and pulled out his sword, but before he could take any action, one of the gruesome goblins shoved him. The Master Sword slipped from his hands as he fell.

_"Not again!"_

Link dropped down the tower. He fumbled and twisted in the air, trying to reach for his clawshot once more. Something hard rammed into his back.

_"The…staircase…"_

That was his last thought before he blacked out.

"LINK!" cried Navi. She zoomed down and grabbed his shirt with her tiny hands, but his body was much too heavy for her to lift and she tumbled down with him. They fell with a splash into the water at the bottom of the tower. The Master Sword landed with a clang on the nearby metal grate.

Navi pulled and pulled Link's unconscious body up to the surface with all her strength. She gasped and choked for air, then for no reason looked up. A rotted piece of the staircase was now plummeting down toward them.

"AAAGH!"

Navi jumped onto Link's chest and pounded frantically on him.

"LINK! Wake up! Please wake up! Link!"

He floated limply in the water. Navi looked up at the falling staircase and covered her head with her arms.

"Help! Someone please! HELP!"

Suddenly, Link's body swooped out of the water. The staircase landed with a heavy splash, spraying water all over. Navi clung to Link's flying body. Fi hovered in the air above Navi. Her legs were wrapped around Link's arms, as if he was carrying her on his shoulders. Instead, she carried him.

"Fi! Thank goodness!"

"Videtur quod minus est, domine, gladio possit satisfacere. Ubi me oportet providere auxilio possum, nisi prius sit exercitatus melius."

"Ah…Fi…I still can't understand you."

"…I…will help…"

With Link in tow, Fi floated them over to where the Master Sword laid. She let him down gently beside it.

"Is he gonna be okay? He hit that staircase hard enough to break it off the wall. That must've hurt."

"Indicandum domino meo, quod mihi lectionis non accepit aliquam solidam iniurias. Sed oportet quod excitaretur, quaevis minor iniurias curare, et ascensionis in summa arce repetemus."

"Eh…what?"

Fi pointed one long sleeve at Navi, then the other at Link's shoulder.

"Well, whadya know? He dislocated his shoulder again. Poor guy."

Navi swirled in circles over the constantly reappearing injury.

"If he keeps getting hurt like this, I'm gonna use up all my life energy, but… I don't think I'd mind…"

Moans stirred from Link's throat, and he opened his eyes.

"Link! You're awake!"

"Please relay your physical status, Master."

_"Wh…what? I think I'm okay. For now."_

"How does your shoulder feel?"

_"It feels fine, Navi. Why do you ask?"_

"No reason."

Link pulled himself up shakily and walked over to the Master Sword, plucking it from the ground. As he wrung the water from his clothes, Fi suddenly flew behind him and wrapped her legs around Link's arms again, lifting him in the air.

_"Fi?! What are you do-"_

"There's no time to explain or rest, Master. We must resume our search for the princess. I can assist you with the bokoblins at the top of the tower, but you must be ready when I designate."

_"How?"_

"Prepare the Master Sword, and be ready to attack."

_"Got it."_

Navi rested on Fi's shoulder while she carried Link back up the tower. Link held the Master Sword tightly in one hand and pulled out his shield as he ascended above the reach of the bokoblins. They clawed and grabbed for him aimlessly.

"Now," Fi declared as she released him.

Link swung his sword in a downward strike as he landed in the center of the bokoblins, and the resulting shock wave knocked them to their feet. He spun blindly before they could rise, swinging the sword in a full circle. Each bokoblin exploded as it made contact with the sacred blade. One bokoblin remained and attempted to run for its life, but Navi swooped toward it and shoved it from the floor, and it tumbled down below.

"That's for earlier, you smelly jerk!"

_"Thanks, Fi. I owe you one."_

"As of the moment, it is of no concern. However, once we have completed our current mission, I highly recommend you acquire training in sword mastery."

_"I hadn't noticed."_

"Link, look."

Navi floated to the barricaded door at the other end of the tower.

"I bet they closed it after we left the castle this morning."

"My readings indicate that the weight of this doorway is over 270 kilograms, Master."

"Think you could give it a go and hope you open the door like this morning?"

Link held his hands out before him. The gold plates on his leather gloves gleamed in the dark tower.

_"I think I can handle it."_

"Please keep in mind, Master, that there could be more enemies loitering behind the door leading to the castle. Be cautious."

_"Got it."_

Link cracked his knuckles, marched up to the door, and yanked the handle with both hands. It nearly ran him over when it ripped off of its giant hinges.

"WHOA! Link, how did you do that?!"

_"Let's just say I've got a really good pair of gloves."_

Link tossed the door aside and it crashed onto the floor.

"We are fortunate of the deafening storm outside. If anyone had heard that crash, Master, you would have inadvertently drawn more enemies to us."

_"Oh crud! Forgot about that!"_

"I don't see anyone out here!" Navi shouted over the wind as she clung to the entry where the door used to be. "I bet they're all hiding inside!"

"Let us continue with caution. Even without nearby enemies, the treacherous weather of the torrent will make traversing across the roofs of Hyrule Castle extremely dangerous. Good luck, Master."

Fi then disappeared into the hilt of the Master Sword.

"Good idea," said Navi. She zipped up to Link's cap and ducked under it.

"I'll hold onto your hat so it doesn't fly away in the wind."

_"How kind of you."_

Link took a big breath and stepped out of the turret. The rain and wind hit him instantly, blowing water directly into his face. He rubbed his eyes and continued.

_"What's with this crazy storm?! It never rains like this this time of year!"_

He traversed along the allure of the curtain wall, clinging to the merlons to keep from slipping. The night sky was blotted out by the storm, and with only an occasional clap of lightning as his light source, Link could barely make out his hands in front of his face.

_Fi! Where am I going?!"_

"Follow this curtain wall to its end, Master. Then turn right and continue down the next allure."

"This wind is so strong!" cried Navi, as she held desperately to Link's hair.

Despite the battering wind, Link followed the path on the wall as far as it would take him, then went right. Now that the storm was to his side rather than his front, he made his way much faster. It was far too fast, however; when he came to the end of the allure, he felt the floor give out beneath his foot, and he fell face first onto the adjoining roof below.

_Ow ow ow! Dammit!"_

"Link, are you okay?"

_I think I broke a tooth! Can't I go anywhere without nearly killing myself?! Malon was right, I'm a walking wreck. I couldn't be more self-destructive if I was a masa-"_

_"Link? Are you there?"_

_"…Navi, did you say something?"_

"Yeah, I asked if you were okay, and then you went on a tangent about being the world's biggest clutz."

_Not that! I thought I heard someone."_

_"Link, please help me."_

_"There it is again! Don't you hear it, Navi?"_

"What the heck are you talking about?"

_"I'm_ _being held prisoner in my own domain. He's taken control of the castle and killed everyone here. I'm the only one left. Please help me, Link."_

_"Where…where are you?_ _Who's he?"_

_"He is the same demon responsible for killing my father."_

"Link, what's going on?"

_"Hang on tight, Navi."_

Link ignored the blasting winds and plodded across the roof. His boots and clothes were saturated with rain, but while they weighed him down they did not slow him down.

_"This way. Here my voice, Link."_

_"You…you spoke to me this morning. You're the one who told me to let go when I was about to fall. You taught me the Song of Storms. Why does it feel like I've known you for so long?"_

_"Follow me…my dearest friend."_

_"…I'd follow you anywhere."_

"Link, what're you doing?"

Navi's question was heard only by the sudden burst of thunder. Link trekked blindly across the roof of the castle, ignoring the rain and wind, ignoring the thunder and lightning, ignoring the dark of the night and the fear of dying if he fell again, and all the while the gentle voice in his mind grew closer and more angelic.

_"Even the Spirits of Hyrule didn't sound this good when I met them."_

_"I'll take that as a compliment."_

When it spoke this time, the voice was so clear it felt as if someone had whispered in his ear. He looked to his right. Beside him was another tower, this one with a conical roof. It had a big shuttered window, and it was open. Link reached for the sill of the window.

"Link, wait! No one leaves a window open in a storm like this! Who'd leave it open, except someone who wants us to get in?"

_"Exactly."_

"But what if it's a trap?"

_"It's no trap."_

"How do you know?"

_"It's okay, Navi."_

As soon as he began to pull himself up, Link felt a small hand grab the back of his shirt and tug it forward. With its help, he climbed through the window. He stepped carefully into the tower and heard the window shut tight behind him. He found himself in a well-furnished apartment. A marble fireplace lit up the room well enough for him to see the walls lined with shelves and shelves of antique books. A large canopy bed with velvet drapes decorated the other end of the room.

"Dang!" Navi admired as she crawled out from under Link's hat. "This place ain't too shabby. How come we couldn't get a room like this at the inn?"

Light footsteps moved from the window in front of them. They were face to face with a figure cloaked from head to toe.

"…Hey! Adelz, what're you doing here? I thought you were back at the inn with Impa! Did you follow us here or something? What's the big idea?!"

_"Navi. That's not Adelz."_

"Oh really? And just who else would it be?"

As Navi complained, the figure moved her small hands to the hood of her cloak, and lowered it. Her long, mahogany hair drifted down as the hood fell, and Link found himself looking into sharp blue eyes identical to his own.

"…Ooooh."

_"…Your Highness."_


	17. Ordona 16: Hyrule Castle, Part 2

"Hello Link. I've been waiting for you."

Link instantly dropped to his knee and put his hand over his heart.

"You don't have to do that."

_"But I want to, Princess."_

"It's all right," she spoke softly. "Please stand."

He did so without hesitation.

"Let me have a look at you."

Her hands followed her eyes as she looked him over carefully. They rested warmly on his chest while she examined his tunic, and when she looked into his eyes her fingers brushed his cheeks. She removed his leather glove and took his hand in her own.

"Oh dear," her voice cracked. "I'm crying."

As tears streamed down Zelda's face, Link couldn't contain himself. She took her hands away from his face while he wrapped his arms around her.

_"It's okay, Princess, it's okay. I'm here now."_

"I know, Link," She cried and buried her face into his chest. "Forgive me. I didn't expect to break down like this, but it feels like… like you were a friend who left and finally came back. I missed you so much…"

_"I… I missed you, too."_

"Link," Navi whispered in his ear. "I don't mean to interrupt, but how could you miss each other if you two have never met?"

"Oh goodness," Zelda's awkward laughter broke through her sobs. "You even have a guardian fairy. Now I know this isn't a dream."

"Guardian…fairy…" Navi repeated the phrase to herself, then shook her head. "Whoa, wait a minute! Your Highness, can you hear what Link is saying?"

"I can."

"But how? And how did you know his name?"

"I'll explain later but now that you've come, there's no time to waste. We must leave the castle at once."

Zelda beckoned with her hand as she walked to the other side of the room.

"This is my room, but I am being held prisoner here while my city is destroyed and my people murdered in front of me."

_"Who?"_

Link's sudden, angry demand made Navi inch away from him.

_"Who's doing this, Princess? Tell me. I'll kill him."_

"His name," she answered, "is Agahnim."

"The guy from the Temple of Time!" chirped Navi. "I knew he was evil!"

"You've met him, then? That will make things easier."

Zelda traced her fingers along the stones in the wall until they came to a stop. She pushed herself against the wall as hard as she could, but it didn't budge.

"Link, could you give me a hand please?"

He stepped beside her and pushed with one hand. Dust billowed out as the wall jarred open and rumbled to the side.

"Ooh! A secret passage," Navi observed.

"No one knows about it, including Agahnim or his forces."

Zelda waited for the dust to settle before scooping some up in her hands and carrying it to the fireplace.

_"Let me do that, Princess."_

Link followed her lead by scooping up a heap of the dust and throwing it into the fire.

"No offense, Your Highness," asked Navi. "But should you really worry about cleaning if we don't have a lot of time?"

"If any of the guards come in and see this dust once we've escaped, they'll know how I escaped."

"Good idea. Maybe we should clean up the water at the window, too."

"No, leave the water. It will throw off anyone who would try to follow us. They'll think I climbed out the window instead."

"Wow, Princess, you're really smart!"

Zelda sighed sadly, "I know."

Link glanced up at the princess, and saw the glow of the bottom-left Triforce on her right hand.

_"…You have it, too."_

"I do," Zelda answered. "It's been glowing for days, but the real thing came to me just moments ago. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

_"I…I made a wish. And it split."_

"What wish did you make?"

_"I wished that I could have the strength to protect you."_

Zelda cleared her throat while pulling at her collar.

"You know, most men wouldn't come right out and say that so bluntly."

_"I don't care."_

Link took her face in his trembling hands and pressed his forehead to hers.

_"I feel like…I could tell you anything, Princess."_

"If it's all right, I'd like it if you called me Zelda."

_"Anything you want, my princess."_

"Your Highness," Navi interjected again. "Can I ask a question?"

"Of course, little one."

"If you knew about this escape route, why didn't you leave sooner? You could have gone to look for help whenever you wanted."

Zelda's gentle smile twisted into a grimace.

"I'm sorry!" Navi stuttered. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's all right. I understand what you meant. Please excuse me."

Zelda left them to return to her desk. Zelda's heavy cloak did little to hide her discarded appearance. A worn maid's uniform had replaced her ceremonial kirtle, and her pretty hair was tied up with pieces of straw. Her flat shoes were falling apart at the seams. She opened and rummaged through the desk drawers, speaking the entire time.

"You're right. I could have left anytime I wanted. Believe me when I say I couldn't stand waiting in my room like a coward while the city was thrown into chaos."

She pulled out something that glinted in the light of the fireplace, and stuffed it into her cloak pocket. Next, she went to her dresser on the other side of the room.

"Agahnim has been an adviser to my father for as long as I can remember, but something's changed in him these last few years, and I've watched as evil filled his heart. I tried to warn my father, but his kindness got in the way of his judgment. Keeping me prisoner in my room while he takes over the city is Agahnim's idea of a cruel joke."

"What do you mean?" asked Navi.

Zelda searched through the dresser drawers until she finally pulled out a tiny string-tied pouch. This also went into her pocket.

"I don't know why, but Agahnim has come to hate the Royal Family, especially me. As far as he's concerned I'm a spoiled-rotten brat. Locking me in my room is his way of throwing my regality in my face. He's literally showing the world that I hide in my lavish castle and partake in tomfoolery while my people suffer."

"Is that why he forced you to dress like a girl who sleeps in the cinders? No offense."

Zelda clenched her fist tightly.

"I don't care what Agahnim thinks of me," she seethed, "but if that murderous traitor thinks I'm going to sit idly by while he destroys my kingdom, he will soon learn my wrath."

Zelda walked back to the secret passage and reached into its shadows. She plucked up something from inside, blew the dust from its weathered surface and came back into the room. She held an ornate bow in her hand, and wore a quiver around her shoulder.

"Agahnim may have taken my fine clothes, but he didn't take this. My father had this bow made for me a long time ago. He knew I would need it one day…"

"But if that's the case, why  _did_ you wait here? You're the Princess of all of Hyrule; surely you have the power to stop him?"

"I'm afraid that's the trouble, little one. I have neither the power nor the courage to stop Agahnim…only the wisdom…"

_"Power…courage? Wisdom?"_

"That's right, Link. I waited here, because I knew you were coming. Four days ago, I had a dream. In it, dark clouds billowed over the land of Hyrule. But then, a ray of light shot out of the forests in the north. It parted the clouds and lit up the ground. The light turned into the figure of a young man accompanied by a fairy.

"When I sensed you this morning, when you came to the castle, I almost couldn't believe it. When I saw you from my float, I nearly fainted. I felt it too when you tried to save me at the parade, and again when you pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal. I waited here, because I knew the Hero of Time was coming to the castle to find me.  _You_ are the Hero of Time, Link. I have no right to ask you, but please, you must help me stop Agahnim before it's too late.

"…No. I must help you."

Zelda took Link's hand.

"You're the only one in the city who has a chance of defeating Agahnim. As the holder of the Master Sword and of the Triforce of Courage, it's your destiny to stop him, and I promise to do all I can to help."

_"…Okay."_

"Okay?" said a baffled Navi. "Okay?! Link, do you know what you just agreed to?! You could barely beat back the bokoblins in the waterway on the way here, and now you wanna fight this guy Agahnim at the drop of a hat? We don't know anything about this guy other than what he looks like! He can probably breathe fire for all we know!"

"He  _is_ dangerous," Zelda explained. "Agahnim is a powerful and cunning wizard with many followers. Half of the Hyrulean Army has joined him. It won't be easy to defeat him."

_"I don't care. It's what you want me to do, so I'll do it, Princess. I'll do whatever it takes."_

"Please call me Zelda. By the way, I never got your name."

"Oh, me? I'm Navi."

"Navi, guardian fairy, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Navi was about to respond when Zelda and Link both whipped toward the door.

"Did you hear that?"

_"I sure did."_

"Hear what? I didn't hear anything."

Zelda ran back over to her desk and snatched up a lantern.

"That was the guard, and he's coming upstairs to check on me. Quickly! We must leave at once!"

The two followed shortly behind Zelda into the tunnel. Link managed to close the wall moments before they heard the bedroom door open. They heard bokoblin grunts of arrogance, then confusion, and finally alarm.

"…Aah…haaah!" Navi gasped suddenly.

_"Navi, don't sneeze!"_

"I can't help it," she squeaked. "It's so dusty back here! Ah, Ahh, AHH-"

Zelda caught the tiny fairy up in her hands and held her close, muffling the great sneeze. They heard the bedroom door open and close, and the bokoblin guard's screaming down the tower stairs.

"Thank you, Princess. I hope I didn't blow our cover."

_"Do you think the guard heard that?"_

"I'm not waiting to find out. Let's move."

Zelda released the fairy, then struck a match against the tunnel wall and lit her lantern.

"If we can get to the Temple of Time and meet with Sahasrahla, he can help us plan our next course of action, perhaps even help us stop Agahnim. This secret passage goes under the city straight to the Temple of Time. I've never had to use it before, and it passes through the castle's dungeon, which is probably crawling with Agahnim's dark knights, so we must be careful."

The tunnel sloped into steep stairs as Zelda led the way. Link was one step behind the princess as they descended deeper and deeper beneath the castle. The tower was pitch black, save for Zelda's lantern and Navi's natural light. Their footsteps echoed against the narrow walls.

"It's getting so cold," Navi shivered. "We must be really far underground."

_"It_ is  _getting kind of chilly."_

"Stick close to my lantern if you're cold."

"You're lucky, Your Highness. At least you've got a big cloak to keep you warm."

"You can hide in my pocket if you want."

"That's okay, Princess. I'm a guardian fairy, remember? I must remain vigilant! I'll lead the way!"

Navi flew ahead and put her hand emphatically to her brow. Zelda couldn't help but laugh. The winding staircase ended and the group found themselves walking through a dank corridor. Link began to pick up the smell of wet iron.

_"Fi, you've been quiet for a while."_

_"I've been running analyses since we've met with the Princess, Master, and I'm afraid she is correct in her observation; I sense a large amount of hostility coming from the large chamber ahead, what I can assume is the castle's dungeon. In your current state, should you encounter an enemy your chance of survival is only 45 percent."_

_"…Fi, can I ask something?"_

_"Of course, Master. I will answer all questions as correctly and honestly as I can with any and all available data at my disposal."_

_"You don't have much faith in me, do you?"_

Link heard no answer from the Master Sword.

_"Your silence is reassuring."_

_"Forgive me Master, but I have no knowledge of the concept of 'faith'. Perhaps if you explain it to me, I will be able to answer your question."_

_"You want me to tell you…what faith is? Hmm…where do I even start? To be honest, I'm not quite sure myself."_

_"You seemed knowledgeable of the concept when you asked your question, Master. Do you mean to say that you are unfamiliar with it as well?"_

_"No, it's not like that– I mean, I know what it is, I just don't how to explain it."_

_"What does it mean to have faith in someone, Master?"_

_"Well… I guess it means to believe in someone even though the odds are against them. It means that even though their chances of succeeding aren't very good, you still think they can do it."_

_"…Interesting. Can you provide more details?"_

_"I'm not sure, Fi. It's kind of abstract."_

_"What you have described to me, Master, sounds like a train of thought only humans are capable of. I do not operate under paradigms such as that one."_

_"Oh … b-but if you did, what would you think?"_

_"I will tell you the same thing I said before, Master; the Goddesses saw in you the divine attributes that are essential of the Hero of Legend. They watched over you as grew up and became an honorable adult. Despite what any of my analyses tell me, the Goddesses hand-picked you for this great mission, and therefore have more 'faith' in you than I could ever possibly have."_

"Hey!" Navi cried. "Link, watch out!"

_"I guess it's nice to know that the Goddesses trust me, if nothing else."_

"Link, stop!" Zelda warned.

_"Master, please watch your step."_

_"What?"_

Something hard caught Link's foot, and he fell heavily on his stomach.

"I told you to watch out," nagged the guardian fairy. "But you weren't listening!""

_"Ouch! It feels like I tripped on an anvil! What was that?"_

He flipped over and looked at the offending tripper. In the light of Zelda's lantern, a Hyrulean Knight rested against the cold wall. It was his sprawled legs that had caused Link's fall. Blood seeped generously from his armor, and his eyes were glazed as stones.

Upon seeing the soldier, Link's mind went blank with panic. He scrambled to the other side of the hallway.

_"D-d-d-dead! He's dead!"_

"Calm down," Zelda soothed. "He's not dead. Not yet."

"Wha…" the injured soldier stirred and looked up. "Who's there?"

He reached for the sword at his belt, wrapped his fingers around the hilt and tried to lift, but the sword only fell weakly from his hand.

"Haa…" he moaned. "It's no use…"

Zelda stooped down and put her hand on the soldier's forehead.

"Brave knight," she implored. "Who has murdered you so wrongfully?"

The knight looked up into the princess's face and smiled in surprise.

"Your Highness… thank goodness you are all right. My death won't in vain after all…"

"You don't have to die, mister!" Navi replied. "I can heal you!"

Link approached the dying soldier who grimaced in pain.

"Agh! Don't bother. I'm done for…"

The soldier looked to Link as he drew closer.

"You… you're that kid! I…I was in the bar the other night with Wallace. Do you remember?"

His eyes grew wide as he noticed the sword strapped to Link's back.

"That sword… I'd recognize it anywhere! Then you must be…oh god, forgive me, boy. If I had known you would be our Chosen Hero, I would have thought twice before ever harming you. I would have killed Wallace with my bare hands before ever letting him lay a hand on you! Perhaps…you can forgive me, if I give you this. It's not much, but it'll help."

The soldier opened his clamped-tight hand. In it was a small key.

"Take it. You'll need it to get through the castle's dungeon. You won't get far without it."

Link reached cautiously into the soldier's hand and took the key.

"Please," the soldier begged. "I have no right to ask after treating you so unfairly, but the knights have betrayed the kingdom, and what's left of us is being killed left and right by the traitors we once called our brothers-in-arms. It's up to you now, boy. You're the only one who can stop…Him."

"Sir," Zelda asked once more. "Who has done this to you?"

"Princess," the soldier raised his hand to Zelda, then coughed suddenly. Blood spewed from his lips.

"Princess, please listen to me. Agahnim… he's not what he seems."

"What do you mean?"

"I…I happened to hear what I thought was Agahnim scheming as I was guarding the dungeon entrance…but then I realized it was not his voice. Agahnim was never a good man, but he wasn't cruel, not like this. I tried to get a better look at the true villain… but what I saw…"

The soldier coughed heavily and leaned against the wall.

"He… he can't be human. There's no way…"

"What did you see, sir?"

"A monster. He looks like Agahnim, but he wears a disguise. He looks like a normal person, but when you look into his eyes…those horrible eyes…"

The soldier's breathing grew shallow, and his voice lowered until it was barely a whisper.

"I'll never forget…those burning eyes…not as long…as I…"

"…Sir?…Sir?!"

Zelda gently shook his shoulder, then closed her eyes.

"…What do we do now?"

"…"

"Your Highness?"

"We must leave him here. For now."

Zelda put her fingers to the soldier's eyelids and closed them. She laid him down on his back with his hands over his chest, and clasped her hands. Navi dropped beside Link and put her hands together.

"Rest in peace, brave knight," Zelda prayed. "And know that your death will not go to waste. The information you have given us is priceless in our endeavor, and we thank you for it. May you receive blessings from the Goddesses on the other side."

"Amen," Navi answered shakily.

_"…"  
_

"Get up, Link."

Zelda took his hand and lifted him.

"We'll have to mourn as we walk. We cannot stay here."

"Link? Are you okay?"

_"I'm not sure what's worse: that I jumped like a kid when I tripped over what I thought was a dead man, or that I watched someone die right in front of me. I feel bad for him…"_

Link trudged slowly behind. It finally occurred to him where the iron smell from earlier had come from, but now the scent faded as they delved farther down the corridor.

"Oof!" Navi grunted as she crashed suddenly. "Who the heck put this door here in the middle of the walkway?!"

"Ahh, we're here."

Zelda held her lantern up to Navi's impediment. A rotted wooden door was bound in chains and a heavy rusted lock. She pulled the key from her pocket and pushed it into the lock. Before twisting it, she turned to Link.

"Link," she began. "What that soldier told us has given me a lot to think about, so please listen to what I have to say."

_"What is it, Princess?"_

"No matter who we meet or who attacks us, do  _not_ tell them about the Triforce, or that you've made a wish on it. Don't even mention it. If the topic is brought up, act like you don't know anything about it. If they already know about the Triforce's recharging period and we tell them we made a wish, there's no telling what they'll do to us or the city. So far as I can tell, it's the reason they're invading the kingdom in the first place. That goes for you as well, Navi. Don't either of you mention the Triforce, got it?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

_"I think that goes for you, too, Fi."_

_"Affirmative, Master."_

"And this goes without saying, but if we happen to see Agahnim, we can't let on that we know he's an imposter, got it?"

_"Got it."_

"Good. Now let's continue."

Zelda turned back to the door and twisted the key. The lock and the chains fell away from the door with a clatter as it slowly opened to reveal the dungeon.

* * *

A knock came at Telma's Tavern. Raven asked for the password, and when it was given he opened the door.

"Whatever you called me here for must be important," Shad grumbled as he removed his heavy cloak. "Especially in the middle of a storm like this. Since when did we use passwords to meet?"

"Shad?" Ashei started. "Have you been under a rock?"

"If you must know, I've been home all day doing research, and when night fell I went to bed, like normal people do. Why? I know it's the New Year, but nothing  _that_ important would've happened, right?"

He noticed the others' stark faces.

" _Did_  I miss something?"

"Telma," Impa sighed. "Could you please fill him in?"

"Boy, you've missed one helluva party."

The other Resistance members huddled around as Impa laid a map of the city's layout on the surface of a table.

"Is there no way we can contact Rusl?" Impa asked as she flattened the map corners.

"I'm afraid not," Raven replied. "He left for Ordon Village days ago, and all of our communications are cut. There's no way to get a message out."

"Too bad. He'd probably want to know about this, especially because of Link. What about Auru?"

"He left for Lanayru after last night's meeting," Ashei informed her.

"So we're down two members. Lets make this quick, then; as we all know, Link retrieved the Master Sword from its pedestal in the Temple of Time, and I've sent him to locate and recover Her Majesty. Adelz has followed him in hopes of retrieving Her Majesty's location and possible course of action. He'll be back with a status report any minute now, and when he does I want us ready to help Link at a moment's notice, even for battle if necessary."

"Way ahead of ya."

Ashei patted the hilt of the sword at her belt.

"Raven," Impa directed toward him. "What's your assessment of the army at this point?"

"The numbers are muddled at best, but it's safe to say we've lost at least two-thirds of our troops in the city."

"I have a task for you, but don't leave until Adelz returns. I want you and Ashei to comb the south end of the city, making your way north. Find as many still-loyal knights as you can, and bring them together. When Adelz returns, I'll give you the location for where to lead them."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Is this true?!" Shad's cry rang out suddenly in the tavern. "This is incredible! This is wonderful news!"

"What about him?" asked Ashei.

"Shad's extensive knowledge of Hyrule's legends will give me the intelligence needed for this operation, so for now, he will stay in the tavern with me."

Another knock came at the door, and once again the password was given and the door opened.

"I return with news, Lady Impa," Adelz reported as ze walked in. "The Hero Link has identified the princess and retrieved her from her imprisonment. He is now escorting her through the dungeon beneath the castle, and they are making their way to the Temple of Time."

"That's your cue, you two. Both of you, go and find help from the soldiers, and bring them to the Temple. We'll meet you there in an hour."

* * *

"Sir, you know I don't mean to interrupt, but I just received a tidbit of bad news from one of my guards."

"What is it?"

"Well, it's really an embarrassing matter. You see…what's happened is…"

"Speak up, Ghirahim."

"The…princess…she's…well, the princess has…"

"Spit it out."

"That…THAT WRETCHED BRAT! SHE'S GONE!"

"Hmm? Gone?"

"JUMPED OUT THE WINDOW! RUN AWAY AND ABANDONED HER KINGDOM!"

"Calm down Ghirahim, and back up. You say she jumped out the window?"

"My guard informed me that he found water at the window in her bedroom before he came to me! This is preposterous! Our whole plan's down the drain! I say we destroy the city and be done with this horrid place."

"Hmm…Water at the window, huh?"

"…Sir, you don't seem nearly as angry as I expected you would be."

"Ghirahim, let me ask you something. When was the last time someone brought  _in_ water from outside when they jumped  _out_  the window into the rain?"

"…Sir?"

"Relax, my loyal servant. I know exactly where the lovely Princess of Hyrule has gone. As a matter of fact, it would be a great help to me if you went to Temple of Time and awaited her there. I know how you are about chivalry, and I'm sure she would appreciate the gesture."

"It would be my pleasure…"

* * *

The first room was small and dark. Link could barely make out the silhouette of overturned bookshelves and a desk.

"This way," Zelda whispered, leading with her lantern, and tip-toeing over upset books and papers as she approached the end of the room to another door, this one unlocked. Link stepped forward and pulled the new door open and when he did, torch light filled their room and revealed it to be an office quarter. Link took a step out the door when Zelda pulled him back.

"Wait," Zelda whispered, then peered into the room. "It's crawling with dark knights."

"How do we get in?" Navi murmured. "If even one of them sees us, they'll all be after us."

Link poked his head past the door. Lit torches lined the walls of what was a huge stone chamber. Giant statues of identical knights decorated the walkways, and patrolling down those walkways were dark knights, each carrying a pike and shield in hand. On the far side of the chamber was another locked door.

Link looked up, and saw rafters in the chamber's low ceiling.

"This must be the main room of the dungeon."

_"Zelda, do you know anything about the dark knights?"_

"I'm sorry Link, but I know about as much as you do. They're hollowed spirits in suits of armor who serve evil purposes. Now that I look at them, I think they're the same enemies who attacked Hyrule City sixteen years ago."

Link's skin itched, but he ignored the sensation.

_"What else?"_

Zelda peered into the next room and observed one of the knights as it stomped by.

"They're still wearing the Hyrulean Army suits. That should help."

_"What do you mean?"_

"There's a huge design flaw in the armor of our knights; a weak point in the back plate. From the front they're near impossible to defeat, but if you attack the dark knights from behind, you might stand a chance."

"Hey," Navi called quietly. "Look at these."

She hovered inches above the ground behind them. Scattered all around her were documents and papers.

"This must have been the warden's office," inferred Zelda. "That's why these papers and books are here."

_"Why is this room so torn apart?"_

"I'd imagine that in the confusion of yesterday's events, the prisoners either saw the opportunity to escape and did so through here, or some bokoblins came down and decided to get rowdy."

"Are there any prisoners left? It's a dungeon after all, so wouldn't there be some dungeoners?"

"If they didn't escape, they were either killed or forced to join the dark knights."

"Do you think any of them joined…you know, willingly?"

"I'm sure a few did, but I feel worse for the ones who were forced."

_"What are we looking at, Navi?"_

"Oh, right. Look at this."

She knelt down onto a pile and peeled back each paper's corner.

"I swear I saw it just a second ago. Gimme a minute."

She climbed under the stack. Her body's natural light leaked through the papers as she crawled under them.

"Aha! Here it is!"

She crawled back out, pulling a blueprint with her.

"Will this help us, Princess?"

Zelda took the document from Navi and looked it over.

"Navi," she breathed. "How did you find this?"

"A guardian fairy does what she can."

"Link, let's get this desk set up so we can look at this map."

Link flipped the upset desk back into place, Zelda laid the map out flat, and the three of them bent over it. The map was worn thin from time and use, and cracked when it moved. Zelda took care not to rip the paper as she laid it down. Only six rooms and four hallways were drawn in faint pencil. The rest was blank.

"This map," she whispered. "It's our dungeon all right, but it doesn't look correct at all. Our castle's dungeon is much bigger than this."

"And there's weird writing all over it, too," agreed Navi. "It looks like the same stuff in that abandoned house, remember Link?"

_"I remember. Jovani's house."_

"Can you read any of this?"

_"I'm trying, but it's hard to make out."_

Link leaned closer and squinted at the tiny, handwritten letters.

_"Here, it says something about the room…being locked first. In this one on the other side, it says, 'here you will find the_ Big Key _.' And in this room, it says…_ 'Min-Bo Room.' _"_

"Min  _what_  room?"

_"That's what it says."_

"Are you sure, Link? That doesn't sound quite right to me."

"Can you read Old Hylian, Your Highness?"

"I learned from a young age how to read, write, and speak it."

Zelda traced her fingers across the edge of the map.

"This could be an early architect's sketch of the dungeon before it was built, which would explain why it's written in Old Hylian, but if that's the case then this map is hundreds of years old. Without some way of modifying it to the dungeon's appearance today, there's no way we can navigate with it."

Fi apparated from Link's sword and examined the map.

"The Princess is correct," she analyzed. "This map only retains 30 percent accuracy to the dungeon's current layout. However, If I can identify the perimeters of this map and unify it with my coördinates, I will be able to establish our location nonetheless."

She pointed her long sleeve at a corner room of the map.

"We are present in this south-western most room of the dungeon."

"Then that means we need to head East," Zelda decided as she carefully rolled up the map. "With this map and Fi's guidance, we'll be able to make it out okay."

"Hey wait a minute!" exclaimed Navi. "Princess, how'd you know about Fi, or that that was even her name?"

"It's strange, but I get the same feeling from her as I do with Link. I knew her name the moment I saw her. I wish I could explain it better, but it's difficult to describe. In any case, our next step is figuring out how to get past those dark knights as quietly as possible."

Link wrapped one arm tightly around Zelda's waist.

"Link!" Navi gasped. "What the heck are you doing?!"

He took a clawshot in his other hand, kicked the dungeon door open, and squeezed the trigger. The two of them shot into the rafters of the ceiling. Several dark knights heard the cross breeze as Link and Zelda flew by and looked around, but when they saw nothing, they went back to their trudging.

"Good call," Zelda whispered. "Most people don't look up."

"Right…"

_"What did you think I was doing, Navi?"_

"N-nothing! I wasn't thinking an–"

Zelda clasped her hands around Navi.

"Hush!" she hissed. "You'll let every dark knight know we're here."

A muffled squeak of apology came from her hands, and Zelda released Navi.

"Link, where was the 'min-bo' room you mentioned?"

He looked around and pointed to the far side of the chamber.

_"In there."_

"Darn it, I was afraid of that. There's no way we can unlock that door without alerting all those knights."

_"We have to try."_

"…Hang on."

Zelda leaned over the rafter and watched the dark knights below as they followed their paths.

"Each statue group is composed of four equally sized statues," she began mumbling. "And the statue groups are arranged in two rows of three, totaling six groups of twenty-four statues," she mumbled to herself. "There are six knights total, all moving at the same pace. Each knight follows a set path through the six groups of four statues each. Knights 1, 2, and 5 each walk around group 1, 2, and 6 respectively, where they return to their starting position. Knight 3 walks around groups 3 and 4 before returning to its original post, while knight 4 moves around group 3 and 5, and knight 6 moves around 4 and 6."

"Umm, Your Highness, what are you–"

Navi was silenced by Zelda's erected index finger and replied, "Sorry."

"Two basic movements are required of knights 1, 2, and 5: turning corners and walking past statues. A third movement is required of knights 3, 4, and 6. As knights 1, 2 and 5 walk past the statues and turn the corner of their respective groups, knights 3, 4 and 6 have to cross pathways leading to the next statue group before they can go around the corners of those groups. The pathways between the statue groups take up the same area as the statues themselves. It takes knights 3, 4, and 6 twice as long to finish their routes as it does for knights 1, 2, and 5. Six knights moving at the same pace, Six statue groups, Two different paths, and three different movements means that by the time they all return to their starting positions, they'll have gone through 8 sequences."

Zelda went silent as she continued watching the knights' movement patterns below. It was a long time before she spoke again.

"If we're careful," she finally stated. "And we time it right, we can move past the knights without any of them seeing us, and make it to that door, but we have to hit the ground running…"

A dark knight stomped by below them, stopped to look around, then went on its way.

"Go!"

Link leapt from his perch in the rafter and landed square on his feet on the stone floor. When Zelda jumped, he caught her in his arms.

"This way," she whispered as Link let her down.

Once the dark knight disappeared around the corner, Zelda darted down the center path while Link and Navi followed. She clung to the statue group on the right, and kept her eye on another dark knight that crossed their path as it patrolled. When that dark knight walked behind another group of statues, Zelda darted to the left and to the next statue group.

_"Wait! Do you know what you're doing?!"_

Once again, Zelda's reply was only her raised finger.

As the three crossed to the other side, a new dark knight came from behind a corner ahead of them. It looked to its left and right before turning, so Zelda ran back to the statues on the right. This time, she did not stop and wait; she ran while Link took big steps to keep up with her. The princess turned sharply on her left around the statues, and sprinted for the locked door.

_"Get your key ready,"_ she spoke telepathically to him.

_"Got it."_

He fished his key from his pocket just as they reached the door and jammed it into the lock. Before the dark knights had a chance to look up from their patrolling, the Princess, Link and Navi had yanked the heavy door open and closed it behind them, pushing their weight into it.

"Whew!" Navi gasped as she leaned against the door. "That was  _way_ too close."

_"Where are we?"_

It was starkly lit again in this room, so Zelda struck a new match and relit her lantern. A long corridor led past empty stone rooms barred with tall iron rods. Tiny cots and bedpans were all that remained in the narrow cells. The dank stench of body odor and urine stagnated in the hall.

"These must be the prison cells," Zelda explained as she pulled out the map. "But no one's here…"

An ear-piercing clang made the three of them jump.

"What was that?!" Navi shrieked.

"It came from the door!" Zelda realized.

Link bolted back to the door and pulled as hard as he could, but even with his golden gauntlets it refused to budge.

_"It's locked tight! We're trapped…"_

"And we don't have any more keys! What do we do?! We're gonna be stuck here for weeks and weeks and starve to death and die!"

"Calm down, Navi. We're not going to die."

_"Do you think the dark knights saw us and locked us in from the outside?"_

"I don't think so. From the way it sounded, it seemed like it came…from inside."

Another sudden clang made them jump, but not from startling. This time, the clang landed so heavily that it made the floor shake.

_"What…was that?"_

Another clang landed, then another and another, each one landing harder than the last.

"Princess," Navi squeaked as she hid in Zelda's cloak. "I don't think those 'clangs' are getting bigger."

"…You're right."

_"They're getting closer."_

Link turned slowly away from the door and back to the others. Towering over Zelda and Navi in the light of the lantern was one, huge dark knight. It did not carry a pike or spear. In its left hand was a long metal chain, and attached to it in the knight's right hand was a heavy iron ball that fit squarely in the palm of its gauntlet. Navi gulped.

"Link," Zelda whispered. "I think I know what Min-Bo room stands for."

_"What's that?"_

"Mini-Boss Room."

_"What is it about this guy that could_ possibly _make think you think this place is_ 'mini?' _"_

"Just a guess."

The trooper lifted the chain in the air, and the iron ball followed it up before crashing back down.


	18. Ordona 17: Hyrule Dungeon

" _Look out!"_

Link dove and yanked Zelda out of the ball's path before it crashed. The trooper struggled to wrench it out of the mound of rubble it made in the floor.

Navi cried, "WHAT DO WE DO?!"

Link drew his sword and shield.

_"Get out of here! I'll take of him!"_

"Don't forget what I told you about the armor," Zelda reminded him.

" _I remember… but it's easier said than done."_

"You can do it…"

She beckoned Navi with her hand as she ducked into one of the empty cells and pulled the iron bars closed behind her. The ball and chain trooper followed them with its ghastly eyes, but Link dashed forward and whacked its armor with his shield.

" _Your fight's with me. Leave them alone."_

A husky laugh came from the trooper's helmet as it began to spin the chain above its head.

" _It took him way too long to pull the ball and chain back when he tried to attack Zelda. By the time he attacks me, I can–"_

Link thought too slow. The ball, twirling faster and faster around the trooper's head, launched in his direction.

"Watch out!" yelled Navi.

Link lifted his shield and blocked the oncoming ball, but the force behind the throw was greater than he expected and knocked him to the ground. The trooper pulled hard on the chain and caught the ball in its hand.

" _It is fortunate that the Hylian shield is unbreakable, is it not, Master?"_

" _Fi! Give me a hand here!"_

The trooper flung the ball toward him again.

" _To begin, I highly recommend you stand up and dodge his second attack."_

" _Yeah, I got that!"_

He rolled out of the way and barely escaped having his skull crushed. The ball bashed into the wall behind him and landed heavily on the floor, forcing the trooper to reel the chain in slowly.

" _It takes him forever to get the ball back if it hits the floor…"_

" _But it only requires a short duration if he hits his target, or if the ball is still airborne. I highly advise refraining from using your shield, Master, and instead dodging his attacks then attacking while he is distracted and take advantage of his weakness."_

" _Right!"_

"You can do it, Link!" Navi cheered. "Kick his ass!"

Link stood up and prepared himself. He grasped the Master Sword tightly in his left hand, and the Hylian Shield in his right. He bent his trembling knees and lowered his head, keeping his eyes on the trooper that swung the chain around and around.

" _Come on. Come at me!"_

Faster and faster the chain and ball went over the trooper's head, but it did not attack Link.

" _What're you waiting for? Come on! Hit me already!"_

It finally came for him. The ball launched straight toward Link, but he dove underneath and rocketed toward the trooper, whose first reaction was to swing his metal hand down at him. When the hand struck Link's left shoulder, a loud crunching erupted.

" _AAGH!"_

"Link!" Navi and Zelda cried out. He tumbled away as the trooper shoved him aside. The Master Sword slipped out of his hand and flung across the room.

" _My arm!"_

He sat up and attempted to lift his hand, but there was no response from his limb. He touched his shoulder and gasped at the flaring pain that answered, and knew there would be no resetting his arm this time.

"Watch out!" Navi pointed.

He looked up at the trooper looming over him. With the chain in its hand, it dropped the iron ball on him from above.

"LINK!"

He lifted his shield in time to deflect the iron ball, and before the trooper could drop it again, Link rolled out of the way and jumped to his feet. His shoulder screamed in fire as he moved, but he ran to where the Master Sword lay.

"Hurry, Link!" shouted Zelda. "He's going to throw another attack!"

He grabbed the sword with his good hand and double-stepped back toward the trooper. He dove once more under the oncoming ball and chain, but instead of moving straight this time, Link side-jumped and rolled on his side around the trooper. Before the soldier could turn to face him, Link shoved the Master Sword into its back.

Zelda and Navi watched speechless at what happened next; the trooper froze as Link twisted the sword through its suit. Its upper half broke apart from the legs, and the separated armor pieces hit the floor with a clang. Link waited for the trooper to pull itself together and stand back up. It did not.

"Link!" Navi jumped up for joy. "You did it!"

His sword dropped out his hand as he collapsed, writhing as he grasped his shoulder. Zelda yanked her cell door open and was at his side in a second. She set to work examining him by holding her hands over his shoulder. A magic aura emitted from her hands as she analyzed him.

"Something like this happened to him the day before. Do you think you could reset his arm?"

"His shoulder isn't dislocated. It's been shattered. His glenoid socket and humerus head have been completely shattered."

"Eh…English please?"

"There's no way for me to fix his arm from the outside, not even with my magic."

"What?!"

"If Impa was here she could do it, but there's no helping that."

"What do we do?! Link can't continue like this! Look at him!"

Hot tears flowed from Link's eyes as he clenched his teeth and clawed at the ground with his good hand. It was all he could do to keep himself from fainting. He breathed hard and fast.

"Hang on, Link." Zelda put her hand on his forehead. "I have something that will help."

She pulled a tiny pouch from her belt, and to Navi's surprise opened it wide and thrust her entire arm into it.

"Dang! It looks so small on the outside. How big  _is_  that thing?"

Zelda pulled her arm out, and in her hand was a tall, sealed jar containing a thick red fluid.

"Sit up if you can, Link, and drink this."

She removed the seal and put the jar's brim to his lips. The viscous concoction, which tasted like bug guts, slid in greasy chunks down his throat. The questionable medicine made him heave, but Link felt the pain drain from his arm nonetheless and it wasn't long before he was sitting up and drinking on his own, swallowing hard with every awful mouthful.

"Make sure you drink all of it. Every last drop."

"How do you feel?" Navi touched his arm cautiously.

_"Like brand new! My arm doesn't hurt at all! What_ is  _this stuff?"_

"Just a potion," explained Zelda. "It'll do you right, that's for sure, but it's better if you don't know what's in it."

_"I think I can take a guess. Ugh!"_

He gagged at the taste, and Zelda and Navi laughed.

"Hey," Navi pointed. "What's that?"

A faint glow came from the empty trooper armor. As it faded away, a wooden treasure chest, sealed with metal strips and encrusted in jewels, appeared in its place.

"Hey!" the inquisitive fairy grinned. "Link got a prize for winning!"

"I suppose that's one way to look at it," Zelda shrugged.

"Come over here and open it! I wanna see what you won!"

_"No way! It's probably a trap."_

"But what if it's something good? Maybe there's money inside!"

"Maybe it's something to help us get through this dungeon."

_"Is it worth taking a chance?"_

"If there is something bad inside," Navi pumped her fist as she spoke, "I bet we could handle it!"

_"You mean_ I'll  _handle it."_

"Yeah, that."

"If something bad does come out, we'll be ready for it. What do we have to lose?"

Zelda placed her hand gently on Link's shoulder, and he put his hand on top of hers.

_"Oh, all right. I'll open it, but it's probably locked for all we know."_

Link approached the chest, glared at it, walked around it a few times, and kicked it lightly. The top popped, making him jump back and draw his sword. When no venomous snakes or face-eating acid jumped out at him, he knelt down, lifted the lid, and looked inside.

_"What the–"_

"What is it?"

He pulled out the object in the chest and showed it to them. He held a smoothed piece of wood, carved angularly with a red gem that decorated its center.

"Ah," Zelda smiled. " _This_ is a treasure worth finding."

_"But what is it?"_

"It's a boomerang, Link. It doesn't look like much, but it's designed so that when you throw it, it always comes back to you."

_"To be honest, I'd rather have the gems on the treasure chest."_

"It's also one of the Royal Family's magical artifacts. If you strike your enemies with this, you can stun them temporarily."

_"Okay,_ that's  _cool, but it would've been nice to have this against that trooper."_

The sudden 'shink' of metal made Link throw the boomerang in the direction of the sound.

_"What now?!"_

"Hey!" Navi called. "I think the door's unlocked. We can get out now!"

"With that boomerang, we can make it past the other guards with no trouble."

They carefully opened the door, peeked outside, and watched the patrolling dark knights in the main chamber.

"Think you can hit that one over there?"

Link tossed the boomerang up and down in his hand as he targeted the closest knight. He bent his arm over his head, licked his lips, then swung out. The boomerang flew from his hand, leaving a trail of sparkling dust as it zoomed straight for the dark soldier and hit it square in the helmet.

"Direct hit!" Navi announced.

"Let's go!" Zelda directed as she ran in. The boomerang whirled its way back to Link, who caught it and went after the princess.

"Hit as many of them as you can!"

Every time a dark knight saw and charged for them, the boomerang launched from Link's fingertips and stunned it. Soon, all six dark knights stood paralyzed as the three made their way to the other side of the chamber.

"I saw another door this way!" Navi explained as she darted ahead. Across from the warden's room was another gated door.

_"The knights are starting to move again!"_

"Then let's hurry!"

Link yanked the door open for Zelda and Navi, then slammed it shut behind them. When Zelda saw the lock on the door, she closed it tight.

"What if we need to go back through there?"

"We won't. Look."

She pointed behind them. Link and Navi turned, and their mouths gaped. Before them was a great double door, covered in gold leaf and thirty feet tall, bigger than any other door in the dungeon. A giant silver lock bolted it shut.

"This is it!" Zelda said excitedly. "This door leads to the secret entrance of the Temple of Time! We're almost there!"

"But it's locked super tight," Navi said as she flew over to and jumped on the giant bolt. "It's gonna take a really big key to open lock!"

_"There's another hallway down here. If we look around, maybe we can find the key in there."_

Link led them down the new hall. Though the ceiling was high above them, dusky gray light filtered down. They could hear the pounding rain and clapping thunder outside, but no water fell on them.

"Where's that light coming from?" Navi whispered. "That can't be the moon, can it? It was raining too hard for us to see it earlier."

Link stopped.

_"Uh oh."_

"Uh oh is right."

All that awaited them at the end of this abrupt hall was a statue identical to the ones in the main chamber.

_"It's a dead end…"_

"Now what?"

"This doesn't seem right. Hold this, please."

Zelda gave Link her lantern and pulled out the map.

"According to this, there should be another room at the end of this hallway."

"Maybe they destroyed it? Or moved it somewhere else? Like you said, this map isn't the same layout as the dungeon anymore."

Zelda tucked away the map and approached the statue. She looked hard at it while holding her hand under her chin. She knocked on the statue gently, moved around to its side, and began to push.

"Give me a hand, Link."

With their combined strength, the statue groaned and rumbled out of the way. Behind the statue was a low, narrow tunnel that came up to their thighs.

"I don't know why," smiled Navi, "but I'm loving all these secret entrances!"

She headed into the opening, but didn't go far. Link reached inside and yanked her out.

"Hey! Whatever happened to 'ladies first?'"

_"I need to go in first, Navi. If there's another dark knight or something worse in there, I need to be able to protect you two."_

"…On second thought, you go first."

Link got down on his hands and knees and peered into the tunnel. He saw light come in from the other end, and crawled inside. Navi succeeded him, and then the princess. He felt the bottoms of his hands and the knees of his tunic get cold and damp as he pulled himself through. It was a brief crawl, for as soon as they clambered in the tunnel ended and they wriggled out into a new room.

No monsters waited here, much to Link's liking. All that existed in this hidden room was a lit torch hanging in each corner, and four milky orbs. Each orb was set on its own display; a black metal stand welded into an upright arm and an open hand, so that it appeared as if the displays were 'holding' their orbs. The four stands and orbs were arranged in a square in the middle of the room.

"What is this place?" Navi questioned as she darted about the room.

"Why…I'm not sure."

_"Navi, don't touch that!"_

Her curiosity got the best of her, and before Link or Zelda could stop her, Navi had laid her hand onto one of the orbs, and it lit up brightly. They braced themselves for whatever trap they expected to surely spring upon them, but when nothing happened, they sighed in relief.

"Relax, guys. All they do is light up when you touch them."

_"You're lucky that wasn't a trap, you know."_

Zelda approached another orb and laid her own hand on it. It, too, began to glow.

"So what are these things?" said Navi half-mindedly as she rapidly took her hand on and off the orb, watching it turn on and off over and over.

"Perhaps it's a riddle?"

"Maybe we're supposed to touch them in a certain order."

"But if that's the case, then in what order, and how many times? How will we know if we've done it right?"

Link walked up to one of the opaque orbs and looked deep into it. He watched as murky clouds swirled and tumbled around inside.

" _I can't stand when I'm talking to someone, and they don't look me in the eye… You've plagued me so greatly in the past that it just wouldn't be fair… What is your name…?"_

Link suddenly shook his head.

" _Whoa! Where did_ those  _thoughts come from?"_

"What thoughts, Link?" asked Zelda.

" _Oh… nothing. Never mind."_

Link looked back at the orb, and when he touched it, the clouds disappeared as the orb lit up.

_"Maybe we're supposed to touch all four of them at the same time."_

"How are we gonna do that?" wondered Navi. "There's four of these and only three of us."

_"Fi?"_

_"I understand, Master."_

Fi back-flipped from the sword on Link's back and levitated to the last orb.

"Would you like me to touch this orb?"

_"Yes, please."_

"Oh right. Forgot about her."

_"You guys touch your orbs. I'll try this one."_

The girls laid their hands on their respective orbs while Link pressed his hand firmly on the cool surface of his own. With all four orbs illuminated under their touch, a gold key as big as Link's arm appeared in the center of the orbs.

"Look!" Navi cried. "That key is  _huge!_  It's  _gotta_ open that door we just saw!"

In her excitement, Navi pulled her hand away from her orb and zipped toward the key. The moment she did, the key disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Hey, what gives?"

"I guess we need to be touching all the orbs in order to get the key," Zelda realized.

"How're we supposed to grab the key that fast? I barely let go of my orb and it was already gone! It's like the Goddesses are trying to torture us."

"It's too bad we don't have a fifth person here to grab the key while we hold the orbs."

_"Maybe we don't need one. Touch your orb again, Navi."_

She laid her hand upon her orb, and as soon as the key reappeared, Link launched his boomerang. It caught the key in its spiraling ends as it wound around the room and back into Link's hands.

"Good thinking, Link."

"Congratulations, Master."

_"Let's get outta here. Something about this place is creeping me out."_

"EEEK! Lemme go!"

Link and Zelda whipped around toward Navi. They watched in horror as the metal arm that once held an orb now wrapped its fingers tightly around her little body.

"HELP ME!"

Link dropped the key and jumped to her rescue, but something pulled him back. He turned around to see the stand that clenched his arm.

_"What's happening?!"_

"They're wallmasters! It's a trap!"

Zelda fought and pulled as hard as she could, but the stand for her orb was glued to her arm. Link reached for his sword and jammed it between his wallmaster's fingers, prying himself lose. Fi phased through her wallmaster's grip and dissolved back into the Master Sword. Link launched himself toward Zelda and stabbed the wallmaster's wrist. The disembodied hand cried and released her as it retreated upward.

_"Run!"_

"Link, wait a–"

_"Just go!"_

Zelda grabbed the Big Key and dove into the tunnel while Link ran toward Navi. The wallmaster holding her began to rise into the ceiling.

"Link! Help me!"

He jumped up for her, but was pulled down immediately. He fell onto his stomach and looked back at the wallmaster holding onto his leg. He swiped his sword blindly at it until he sliced off its fingers. The hand wailed as it crumpled into a pile and died.

Link stood back up and jumped again, but as he did a pit sank in his chest. The wallmaster holding Navi had gone too high for him to reach and was getting farther away all the time. He could barely see Navi in the darkening ceiling.

_"Navi! I'm coming! Just hold on!"_

"AAAH!"

Her cries for help devolved into shrieks of terror. It was now that Link began to panic.

_"What do I do?! C'mon, Link! Think!"_

He reached for the boomerang at his belt and aimed for the wallmaster.

_"Please, oh please don't miss!"_

He put blind hope into that boomerang as he threw it as hard as he could. It flew in a half-circle as it trailed up and struck the wallmaster's thumb. With its appendage paralyzed, it released Navi.

" _Yes!"_

The poor little fairy took no time getting away from her captor. She zoomed down to Link and shot into his chest, sobbing. He held her in his arm as he ducked into the tunnel and scooted himself out of the room.

Suddenly, the wallmaster stuffed its fingers into the tunnel and grabbed Link's tunic. Navi screamed and clung to his chest.

"Make it go away!"

" _Get your hand off me!"_

Link reached up and dug his teeth into the wallmaster's skin. It relinquished its hold on him, but Link didn't let go. Instead, he threw his fists and heavily punched the wallmaster's fingers, snapping them back. The hand pulled back as it tried to escape Link's onslaught, but his teeth only tore deeper into its flesh.

Finally, Link opened his mouth, flipped onto his back, and kicked the wallmaster as hard as he could with both feet. The wallmaster screeched as it bounced against the tunnel walls and back into the room. Link crawled backward to the hallway where Zelda waited and plopped down on the floor, breathing heavily while Navi whimpered into his chest.

" _That…was way too close."_

"Don't leave me!" Navi wept. "I don't wanna die!"

" _I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here, Navi. I won't let you die."_

He gently rocked her back and forth in his arms as he soothed her. Zelda knelt down beside them.

"It's all right, Navi. Wallmasters don't kill people."

"…They don't?" she sniffed.

"No, little one. They pick you up and carry you to another room in the dungeon where they drop you off safe and sound. They look frightening, but they're harmless."

Navi wiped her eyes on her arm.

"Well now I just feel silly," she brooded.

"It's my fault for not telling you. I'm sorry."

" _At least it's nice to know they wouldn't strangle us to death."_

"I was so scared! From now on, I promise I won't touch anything weird!"

" _It would've been pretty inconvenient to go looking for you if they dropped you off somewhere in here."_

"Especially if it had dropped you back in the room with the dark knights."

Link pulled out his boomerang and look at it gratefully.

" _Forget what I said. I'd rather have this than any amount of money in the world. I've had this boomerang for maybe fifteen minutes, and it's already saved us twice."_

"It's helped us get this, too," Zelda replied as she held out the Big Key. "Now we can leave this dreadful place and get to the safety of the Temple of Time. We're almost done. We just have a little farther to go."

"Okay," Navi breathed deeply and stood up. "I think I'm ready."

Link took the Big Key from Zelda and tucked it under his arm. They got to their feet and began to walk back down the hallway, where the Big Door awaited.

"Wait a minute."

Zelda put her hand on Link's shoulder as he shoved the key into the lock.

_"What is it?"_

"I want you to have this."

In her hand was the tiny pouch.

"That's what you were carrying that potion in," Navi remarked. "Which reminds me; how'd you get that big jar to fit in such a tiny little pouch?"

"It's a magic pouch. No matter how big something is, it will fit in the sack. You can put in as much as you want, and it will never get full or grow heavy. You won't have to worry about anything breaking inside either."

_"Are you sure, Princess?"_

"Please take it. When the time comes, you will need it more than I do. Why don't you try putting your equipment in it, like the boomerang?"

He took the pouch hesitantly from Zelda, opened it wide, and dropped the boomerang in. After some thought he decided to store his clawshots and ocarina, too.

"Link!"

Zelda's stunned tone caught Link off guard, and he looked up at her.

" _What?! What's wrong?"_

"Where did you get that?"

" _Get…get what?"_

"That."

She pointed at the ocarina in his hand.

" _Ohh…I bought this in town yesterday. Why? Is it bad?"_

"Link, that ocarina belongs to me."

" _What?!"_

"It's a treasure that has belonged to the Royal Family since the Force Era. It was one of the artifacts retrieved from the bottom of the Great Sea when the university's archaeologists discovered the Old Kingdom. They found this ocarina when they excavated the submerged castle of my ancestors, and they were kind enough to let us have it back, but it was stolen from us not long after. It's been lost ever since."

" _Do you want it back?"_

"Hmm?"

" _I don't mind giving it back, especially if it belongs to you."_

"But Link," Navi pleaded. "You spent 300 rupees on that ocarina. Are you sure you want to give it back?"

"300 rupees? Good gracious, you were cheated."

" _I know, but it wa–"_

"They should have charged closer to 300 million."

" _300 mil…"_

Link's mouth dropped at the insane appraisal.

" _Are you serious?!"_

"Yes. That ocarina's worth is beyond what most people can imagine. It has magical properties that enable its player to create a number of mysterious effects, depending on the song one plays."

_"Mysterious effects? Like what?"_

"Well for example, you remember the Song of Storms I taught you, yes?"

_"Yeah?"_

"If you play that song on this ocarina, you can summon and create a storm of your own."

_"Seriously?"_

"Even without considering the ocarina's magic, its composition is rare, its quality elegant, and its utility in the right hands is extremely high. But disregarding all of that, its…it has a lot of sentimental value. Link, you have no idea what this ocarina represents for me… or how happy I am to see it again…"

" _That settles it, then. You can have it back."_

Link held the pretty blue ocarina out to her, but Zelda just smiled and pushed it back.

"No. You should keep it."

"… _Are you sure?"_

"This ocarina was used to save the Hylian Kingdom by one of the first Legendary Heroes. Now that I see it in your hands, I can't help but feel that it was an act of divine fate that put it there. You must keep the Ocarina of Time, and use it to save the kingdom once again, just as your predecessor did before you. Besides. I have a new ocarina of my own."

Zelda reached into the pouch, and retrieved a small tan ocarina.

"Hey! It's Saria's ocarina that she gave to Link! How did you find it?!"

"A friend of mine brought it to me the other night. He found it right outside Telma's Tavern as he was leaving his meeting with the Resistance. Link, I know this Fairy's Ocarina belongs to you, but if you wouldn't mind, I'd like very much if I could have it while you hold the Ocarina of Time."

" _Of course you can! I'm just glad to know what happened to it. I thought I'd never see it again…"_

"Good. Then you understand my feelings…"

Zelda held the Fairy's Ocarina close to her heart before dropping it into the pocket of her cloak, while Link stored the Ocarina of Time in his new pouch.

"The empty potion bottle should still be in the pouch, and I'm sure you will find it useful. Why don't you take this, too?"

Zelda blew out her lantern, and it too went into the pouch.

_"Why are you giving me all this?"_

"Because," she said softly. "I don't know what's going to happen next. All I know is that from here on out, things won't go as well as we want, and that's without considering what we just went through. So even though what I'm about to say seems out of the blue, please listen carefully."

" _I don't know if I like where this is going."_

"The Master Sword is more powerful than most people realize. You've held it for yourself and felt its power pulsing through your veins, but even you don't realize its true potential. It's a relic that exists outside the temporal limitations of our universe, which means that it has gained new abilities from previous Heroes that didn't even exist in our dimensions; Heroes that existed in  _alternate timelines_. Keep that in mind when what happens next takes place."

"Your Highness?" Navi whispered. "What's gonna happen?"

"Link, hand me your sword and kneel."

_"Huh?"_

"Please give it to me so that I may imbue it with my knowledge."

_"I thought I was the only one who could hold the Master Sword, though."_

"Please trust me."

He gave no further argument. Link pulled the blade from its sheath and presented it, then knelt before Zelda. She held the sword tightly in her hand and gently touched both of Link's shoulders with its tip.

"Great Sages," she chanted. "Guardians of Hyrule. Pay witness to this event as I, Zelda, Sage of Time, bestow upon our Chosen Hero the wisdom to overcome and vanquish evil. Arise, Hero of Legend, and let the power of time be released in you!"

The Master Sword began to glow gold. Zelda presented the blade to Link as he stood up. He felt its warmth surge through his hand and into his brain, and received its first vision.

_He saw himself holding the Master Sword before him, charging energy in its blade, and slashing it forward. A beam of light rose from the sword and cut through the air, slicing through any unlucky foe in his way._

_"Master. I have vital information to report: thanks to Princess Zelda's help, you have unlocked a new ability within the Master Sword; when you are at full health, such as you are now, you will be able to focus your energy into the Master Sword and launch that energy at your enemies."_

Link grasped the Master Sword in both hands and closed his eyes. His strength flowed from his fingers into the sword, and he swung toward the hallway of the hidden room. A powerful beam shot out the sword and down the hall, where it crashed into and shattered the statue at the very end.

"Whoa!" Navi breathed. "That was pretty cool…"

"This attack has to consume your energy in order to work, so be careful how you use it or else you'll drain yourself…and remember, Link; just as the Master Sword has more potential than you can imagine, you have courage within yourself that even you have not unlocked."

" _It feels so weird…Even though I'm carrying the Master Sword, it still hasn't hit me yet; that I'm the new Hero of Time…"_

"Have faith in yourself, the way I have faith in you…"

Zelda took Link's hand.

" _Princess, are you okay? Is something wrong?"_

"I'll be fine, Link. No matter what happens to me, I promise I'll be fine…"

Link exchanged a worried look with Navi before returning to the Big Door.

He began to turn the key counterclockwise. Suddenly, the lock sucked the Big Key out of his fingers and devoured it. A moment passed and nothing happened.

" _Um…?"_

The bar on the lock clicked and retracted. The door groaned as it slowly opened inward to reveal the final room of the dungeon. Waiting behind the door was a grand marble staircase, garbed in a velvet tapestry. Torches lined the walls on both sides as the stairs climbed up and up. Link tried to see where they led, but the stairs went on forever before disappearing into dark shadows above.

"Link," trembled Navi. "I'm getting a really bad feeling."

" _I know. I am, too."_

He swallowed hard and stepped through the Big Door. His footsteps echoed as he neared the staircase, but softened when he tread onto the tapestry. He didn't look back to see, but sensed Zelda's presence as she followed behind him and Navi's minuscule weight as she sat on his shoulder. The staircase continued endlessly, and all the while they climbed in silence. The spaces between each consecutive wall torch grew bigger and bigger, until they were spaced so far apart they created a dismal, barely passable source of illumination. A draft moaned as it whisked down and rustled Link's hair.

" _Someone say something. It's too quiet in here."_

"You're right," Zelda's voice wavered. "It's too quiet."

Link stopped immediately and turned around.

" _What is it, Princess?"_

"The sages aren't singing…"

" _Huh?"_

"We're getting closer to the Temple of Time, so we should be hearing the sages sing, but they're not!"

" _Princess…what is it?"_

"Link, the sages' song is an essential component of the Temple of Time itself. Even in times of war or famine, they never stop singing. There are enough of them in the temple where they can stop to rest while others take up the song and continue, thereby creating an endless melody. The only time they  _ever_ stop singing is…is when they sense an enormous evil presence within the temple…"

"We went to the Temple of Time this morning," Navi realized. "They weren't singing then, either, and that's when we bumped into Agahnim…"

"Something's wrong," Zelda repeated. "Something's wrong…"

She sprinted past Link up the stairs.

_"Princess!"_

"Link!" Navi shouted. "Wait for me!"

He took off after her, but she'd already disappeared into the declining shadows that grew with every ascending step. Link ran blindly up the stairs and hoped he didn't trip.

_"Princess! Come back!"_

"Aagh!"

"That was Zelda!" shouted Navi. "She's in trouble!"

Link jumped three steps at a time as he dashed up the stairs. He came to the top so quickly that he stumbled on the last step and swung out his arms to keep his balance. All around him were the stained glass windows and marble and bronze statues that were the Temple of Time's. He looked in every direction, but couldn't see Zelda.

_"Princess? Where are you? Princess!"_

"Up here!"

Her voice was muffled, but Link heard her and looked up. There was Princess Zelda, floating high above him in the temple's groin vaulted ceiling, and encased within a black and gold crystal. She beat her fists, rammed her shoulders and kicked against the walls of her prison, but succeeded only in exhausting herself.

" _Princess!"_

"Look out!" she called to him.

_"Look out? For what?"_

"Excuse me."

A male yet effeminate, disdainful voice addressed Link, and he circled around for the source.

"I do believe Her Royal Majesty is referring to me."

" _Who are you?!"_

Link walked in circles across the temple's nave.

" _Show yourself!"_

He looked past the temple's altar and turned, stopped, and looked again. Sitting on the tall altarpiece was a slender man with white hair and black eyes.

"Good evening," the man laughed. "Although at this time of day, it might be wiser to greet you with 'good morning.'"

"You!" Navi hissed. "You're the demon who killed the king!"

"Right you are, my friend. I don't belie–"

" _I'm NOT your friend!"_

Link drew his sword and shield as he glared angrily at the man atop the altar.

"Hmm…I thought those dark knights I sent would have tossed and torn you apart, yet here you are. Not in pieces."

He gazed down curiously at Link before standing and leaping from the altar. He landed squarely on his feet a few inches from Link's face. Link recoiled from the man's sudden intrusion on his personal space.

"I'll be honest with you, boy. I'm somewhat surprised to see you here and now, although I can't say it's a terrible shock."

In a flash of black and gold rhombuses, the man disappeared.

"Where'd he go?!"

"Behind you!"

Link whipped around but saw nothing. He froze when a hand suddenly pressed on his shoulder from behind.

"You look very much like another young man who troubled me greatly once before. I'd almost go so far as to say that the resemblance is uncanny. Of course, you have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Link ripped away from the man's grip and swung his sword around, but only caught air.

"It's no matter, because I've learned my lesson."

Link turned to see the man teleport in front of a nearby statue.

"By the grace of my master, I've been given a second chance at life, so I won't make the same mistake with you as I did last time. It was foolish of you to draw your sword, boy, because you've opened a door that was better left closed for your sake."

The man flung his arms wide open. A violent whirlwind erupted from his stance and ripped through the temple's interior, cutting Link's cheeks and legs as it blew past him. Link covered his head to keep his face from being ripped open. He could feel his feet being pushed from underneath him by the sheer force of the wind.

"Link!" Navi cried as she clung to his cap for dear life.

"I apologize for how unfair this must seem to you, considering that you've never done anything to me personally. But you see, that other boy left me with so much bottled up rage all those years ago, and you just look so much like him. I can't help but feel a little giddy at the opportunity that has been presented to me."

The whirlwind stopped instantly as the man drew two longswords.

"I'm not going to bide my time and watch you suffer like I did with  _him_. I going to tear you apart limb from limb before you ever have a chance to get up on your high horse. I'll make sure that unlike  _him,_ you understand my wrath. I'll see to it that you remember the name 'Lord Ghirahim.'"

_"…Crap."_

Ghirahim teleported in front of him so fast that Link never saw the demon lord's foot plant firmly in his face. Link's body tumbled wildly as he was sent flying across the temple.

"Link!" Zelda screamed.

He teleported, kicked Link again, and sent him flying in the opposite direction. He did this again and again, flinging poor Link every which way.

"Link!" begged Navi. "Do something! He's beating you to a pulp!"

_"He's too fast! I can't see him!"_

Ghirahim punted him up toward the ceiling, zoomed after him, and kicked him back down. Link crashed like a bombshell into the floor of the temple, the wind knocked entirely out of his lungs. He laid on his back in overwhelming shock and watched helplessly as Ghirahim aimed the tip of his sword straight for his throat.

"LINK!"

"Ghirahim!"

The demon lord froze centimeters from his target.

"For goodness sake, control yourself. He's just a boy."

"I don't care! Let me kill him! It'll save us so much trouble! I want him to die!"

"Relax, Ghirahim. You'll get your chance. But until then, the Goddesses will not allow you to destroy him so quickly. If you don't wish to meet your untimely demise at Their hands, I suggest you stand down."

"Pfft! Fine!"

Ghirahim scoffed as he pulled back.

"Wait for me at the revival site. This won't take long."

"As you wish, Master," Ghirahim growled as he swung his sword, and disappeared in a flurry of gems.

Link finally exhaled. He held his breath again though, as his supposed savior stepped forward to reveal himself.

"My apologies, young man. I hope my servant hasn't bothered you."

Agahnim's yellow eyes flashed out of the open slit of his hooded turban. His heavy robes draped over his body so that only his gnarly fingernails were visible. Link trembled as got to his feet with sword and shield in hand.

"Well, Link, it seems we meet again, and this time you've got yourself a fancy outfit and sword. You've met Ghirahim, I've met you, and we all know Her Royal Majesty. There's obviously no need for introductions since we've all become so acquainted, so I hope you don't mind if the princess and I take our leave."

Agahnim beckoned with his hand, and the crystal-encased Zelda levitated across the temple down to him. Zelda ripped an arrow from her quiver and began to jam its tip over and over into the crystal wall.

Navi zipped across the nave, darted into Agahnim's face, and began to pull on his robe in protest.

"I don't care how evil you are! You let Princess Zelda go right now!"

"Oh please."

Agahnim grabbed Navi and started crushing her in his big hand. She choked in pain as he closed his grip tightly around her.

_**"Stop it!"** _

Link grabbed the boomerang from his pouch and launched it toward Agahnim, who took one look at it, snatched it out of the air, and cackled.

"You barely escaped with your life against my subordinate, and yet you have enough vigor left to challenge  _me_?"

He continued laughing as he released the fairy and tucked the boomerang into his robes.

"Fine. I've got time to play."

Agahnim raised his arms and floated high into the ceiling. His robes flowed weightlessly as he levitated high above Link. Electricity zapped into Agahnim's hands as he collected loose static from the air and compressed it into a ball of power.

"Meet me in battle, boy, and I will grant you your wish to be totally destroyed!"

_"Uh oh…"_


	19. Ordona 18: Hyrule Boss, Part 1

Agahnim threw his condensed ball of electricity at Link, who raised his shield without thinking. The energy conducted through the metal and burnt his arm.

_"Ooh! Ow! Hot! Hot! Hot!"_

_"That tactic will not be effective, Master."_

_"I know!"_

Agahnim cackled as Link dropped the shield and vigorously rubbed his shocked arm.

"You should see how ridiculous you look!"

He charged another ball and hurled it. Link side-jumped out of the ball's path then turned and watched as the energized sphere crashed into and destroyed a nearby statue. Agahnim launched three more energy balls, so Link took off across the temple. He ran as the attacks followed, missed narrowly and struck past him.

Agahnim wasted no time recharging his magic and continued firing electricity at Link. No matter where Link scampered, an energy ball headed in that direction and blasted apart his hiding places. He weaved back and forth through the temple, jumping over pews and behind statues as he dodged the attacks. Meanwhile, Zelda carved her arrowhead deeper into her prison wall, scraping away gem dust as she scratched furiously.

"What a fool you are!" Agahnim jeered. "You scurry about like a cockroach, running from light everywhere you go!"

Link ducked behind a thick pillar to catch his breath. Agahnim wailed on the pillar with his attacks, making Link's ears ring from the energy that exploded around him.

"Ho ho ho! What're you going to do, boy? You can't run forever, and you can't hit me from down there! I've taken your silly boomerang!"

_"You might have my boomerang, but you don't have these."_

Link pulled out his clawshots and aimed for the nearby sill of a window.

_"If you can't come to me, I'll just have to go to you!"_

Link squeezed the trigger, and while zooming upward aimed the other clawshot at his attacker. Before he could shoot, Agahnim fired another ball at Link. The electricity struck the extended clawshot's chain and began to spread from one end to the other. Link let go of the clawshot before the electricity could reach him, fell, and landed hard on his side.

He groaned and tried picking himself up, but Agahnim sent another attack and hit him full on. Link's body convulsed as the voltage fired into him and overloaded his nerves.

"Link!"

Navi zoomed to where he shook on the floor. Tremors jolted through him as sparks jumped from his chest, arms and legs. His bulging eyes bounced from Navi to the ceiling, windows, and Agahnim with no focus.

"Link! Please get up! Get up Link!"

She knelt beside him and shook his shoulder as she begged. She grew rigid when Agahnim's shadow loomed over her.

"What a shame. Even with the Master Sword in hand, the boy barely put up a fight. So disappointing."

He raised his hand and began to charge another ball of electricity.

"Goodbye, Hero of Time."

"HELP!" Navi shrieked.

An arrow engulfed in light suddenly struck Agahnim from behind. The arrow embedded in his shoulder while its light surrounded him, forcing him to cover his eyes. A second later, brilliant rays exploded from his chest and he howled in pain.

"Let's see who runs from the light now!"

Zelda kicked her foot into her weakened crystal wall, shattering the entire cage. She whipped out another arrow and took aim at Agahnim. Light drew into the arrow as she fired and hit him a second time.

"AAGH! YOU! You filthy, stubborn in-born brat! You'll pay for that!"

Agahnim cringed inward from her arrows and gasped for air. Zelda ran past him and knelt beside Link.

"Are you all right, Navi?"

"Yes. Please, just help him."

Zelda held her hands over Link's body, and blue light began to flow into him. His tremors waned and he regained control of his limbs.

_"P-princess..."_

"Get up, Link."

He took her extended hand and got to his feet.

_"How did you get out of that crystal?"_

"Never mind. You must continue your battle."

_"...I can't."_

"Yes you can."

_"How? I can't reach him with my sword, he's taken my boomerang, and when I tried my clawshots he electrocuted me. I'm running out of ideas really fast."_

"But Link," said Navi. "Why don't you try that sword beam thingy Zelda taught you?"

_"It wouldn't be enough. He could probably blast right through it with his magic, and by the time I got it charged he'd electrocute me again."_

"Link," Zelda smiled and took his hand. "You don't have to do this alone. If we fight together we can surely defeat him."

"Zelda could keep him distracted while you charge your sword!"

"Foolish weaklings."

They turned to Agahnim as he regained his stance and hovered above them.

"You have only seen a taste of my power."

He raised his hands and began to charge another attack. This time however, the sphere grew much bigger in his hand, and he did not release it.

_"Master, I feel that now would be a good time to remind you of the Master Sword's abilities."_

_"I know, Fi, I know. I can charge a sword beam and throw it at him."_

_"That is not what I was referring to, Master. I was merely stating that since the Master Sword can repel and reflect sources of evil, then perhaps you could utilize this ability to your advantage."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"For starters, I highly suggest thrusting the Master Sword into the ground, and then holding onto its handle for Agahnim's next attack."_

"Prepare to die, fools!"

Link took his sword and stabbed it into the hard marble floor.

_"Princess! Navi! Grab onto me!"_

The girls bent close and clung to Link's chest while he took hold of the grounded Master Sword just as Agahnim threw down his giant electric attack. Instead of a ball, bolts of lightning spread throughout the temple and electrocuted everything along the floor, walls, and ceiling. Link felt intense heat from the energy - but no pain - wash over him.

"It's so hot! I can't hold on anymore!"

_"Just a little longer, Navi!"_

As soon as the onslaught started, it quickly ended. Agahnim raged at the failure of his attacks.

"You impudent fools! I will destroy you all if it's the last thing I do!"

Agahnim charged another energy ball and flung it toward them.

_"Get back!"_

Link ripped the Master Sword from the ground and swung with both hands. The oncoming ball struck the sword and flied back toward its pitcher. Agahnim reacted by striking the ball back with his large, rugged hand. Link hit the ball again as it headed for him, only to hit it a third time when Agahnim returned it once more. Neither one relented as the ball ricocheted between the opposing enemies. The ball picked up more speed until it was a flashing light zooming back and forth from one person to the other.

"Do something, Zelda! If Link misses- oh I can't watch!"

Zelda aimed and fired another light arrow. Although Agahnim saw the arrow and swiped it away, it was all it took to distract him; the electric orb zoomed back toward him and hit him in the chest. It was his turn to endure his own attack as he writhed from the electricity pulsing through him.

Link clamped the Master Sword tightly, focused every bit of his strength, and flung a giant sword beam that exploded as it slashed through Agahnim. He collapsed out of the air and fell with a thud.

"We did it!" cheered Navi.

"Wait."

They waited. Moments went by but Agahnim laid still on the ruined marble floor.

"See?" Navi laughed. "No one can get back up from an attack like that! Agahnim's dead! We saved Hy-"

Hoarse groans bubbled from the sorcerer's throat as he pulled himself together and stood up.

"Very impressive," he acquiesced. "But that was just a taste of my abilities. You have yet to see what I can truly do. Let's see how well you handle  _this_!"

Agahnim waved his hands in slow circles and chanted under his breath. Link rubbed his eyes and watched as Agahnim's visage contorted and split. Suddenly, there were three dark sorcerers, each one loading an electric attack.

"Clones?!" Navi stomped her foot. "You can  _clone_ yourself?! That's not fair!"

"Link."

_"Yes, Princess?"_

"Now is a good time to run."

_"Good idea."_

* * *

"Why can't I come?!" Malon pleaded.

"Because this is a private matter," Impa replied. "And it doesn't concern you."

"Yes it does! Link's my brother and I'm going! You can't stop me!"

"It won't be safe where we're going."

"It ain't safe anywhere right now," Telma interjected. "Ya might as well let her go with ya."

"This doesn't concern you either."

"You're right, m'lady. I'm just a tavern keeper who lets her place out for a ragtag team of soldiers out of the kindness of her heart. But as for the girl, her family's on the line and she's got a right to know 'bout her brother; to see with her own eyes his destiny."

Impa groaned, took a dagger from her belt, and presented it to Malon.

"You will stay behind me the entire time, and you will only use this in self defense. Got it?"

Malon nodded as she took the dagger. Rio jumped from his bar stool and walked right up to the Sheikah woman.

"I'm going, too."

Impa looked hard at him and folded her arms.

"Rio," breathed Malon. "You don't have to come. I'll be fine."

"That's not why I'm going."

He looked Impa straight in the eye as he said, "You gave orders to Sir Raven that he was to locate as many knights still loyal to the kingdom as he could find. I may be just a messenger for the army, but I'm in the army. The fact that I'm not a dark knight should be proof enough that I remain loyal to the kingdom."

"Who said anything about proving your loyalty, boy?"

Rio waited, opened his mouth and closed it, then mumbled, "I'll do anything I can to help."

She squinted her flashing red eyes at him before finally saying, "What's your rank, young man?"

"Second Private, M'lady."

"Well then, you've just been promoted to Private First Class. Prepare yourself, Private Rio."

"Yes Ma'am."

"And let me guess," Impa turned on her heel to Talon, who sat at the bar with his back to them. "I suppose you want to go, too."

"…"

"Dad, please come with us," Malon begged. "He's just as much your son as he is my brother."

"I know…"

"Aren't you at least a little bit worried?"

"Yeah…"

"Then come on!"

He didn't move from his stool.

"Dad!" Malon snapped. "Stop it, will you?! Get off your butt and be there to help him for once!"

"…Ah can't."

"Why not?!"

Talon sat in silence. After a long time, his daughter threw her hands in the air.

"Fine! Waste away in this crummy bar! I'm going to find Link and bring him back!"

"Now Malon," Telma began.

"I'm sorry for calling your bar crummy, but I've had it! I'm tired of Dad feeling sorry for himself! He's only going to feel worse by staying here, but he doesn't care! He'd rather wallow in his self pity than step up to his burdens! Goodbye!"

She snatched a cloak from the coat hanger and ripped open the door.

"Well?! It's been an hour hasn't it?! Let's go!"

"Don't be so hasty," Impa remarked but headed outside anyway. "Both of you, let's go."

Adelz held the door open for Rio, then closed it behind zir, and the four of them were gone.

"No one blames you for bein' afraid, hun," said Telma.

"I do," replied Talon. "My daughter's right. I'm too scared of what I'd see, of what that boy's become, and what might happen ta him."

"I wish I knew what to tell ya, sweety."

"I've been wonderin' the same thing for the last twelve years."

Outside, the angry storm was finally calming. The wind had ceased its incessant howling, and the rain let up into a moderate drizzle. Thick clouds still hid the moon and stars, but now the group could travel in silence without being blown to bits, and could concentrate more on the dark knights they were sure to encounter.

"Something's wrong," Impa whispered. "We haven't seen one dark knight yet."

"We haven't come across any bokoblins, either," Adelz remarked.

"Maybe somethin's goin' down at the Temple of Time where Link is," Rio pointed out.

Impa replied sharply, "I certainly hope not!"

"It's fine by me if those monsters hit the road. That just means we can get to where Link is much faster."

With Malon's comment the group went back to traveling silently. Impa took two giant steps to catch up with her.

"Malon," she whispered.

"I don't feel like talking."

"I'm not going to ask about your brother or father."

"Whatever."

"What do you know about Rio?"

Malon stopped walking but Impa quickly pushed her on.

"Rio? Why are you asking about him?"

"Just answer the question."

"To be honest, not that much."

"How did you two meet?"

"He came to our ranch with what ended up being a false war declaration. He said it was a message from the king that he was delivering to all the citizens of our province, but Link found it that it was just a big prank."

When Impa didn't say anything, Malon looked up at her and shivered. She happened to catch a glimpse of Impa's eyes and saw how her irises swirled and glowed. She would've continued watching the hypnotic movement if Impa hadn't asked, "What else?"

"Oh! Umm...He spent all of yesterday in the city with us, Link and I."

"I'm assuming he read the fake war declaration to you, yes?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Do you remember what it said?"

"Bits and pieces...well a lot actually, just because of how weird it sounded to me."

"What did it say?"

"It was about how we were at war with the Gerudo, and how a whole bunch of stuff was happening all over the continent. Death Mountain was erupting, the icebergs in Holodrum were melting, the Faron woods were being poisoned, and Hylia lake was turning into ice. I guess it was just a bunch of bunk, though."

"What about the Gerudo?"

"That was the weirdest part. I know they don't like us very much and we fought them in the civil war sixteen years ago, but I thought they were our allies now. It didn't make sense for the declaration to mention  _them_ of all people for us to be at war with. No wonder Link thought it was lie. I'm surprised I didn't see it myself."

"Was there anything else about it that seemed strange to you."

Malon thought a moment before speaking.

"Yeah, there was something else. The message mentioned that the  _king_ of the Gerudo was declaring war on Hyrule. I thought the Gerudo couldn't have any boys. How could they have a king?"

"Malon, this is very important. Was the Gerudo King's name mentioned in the declaration?"

"I...think so?..."

"Do you remember what it was?"

"...something like Genel...Garron...it started with a 'g.'"

"Ganondorf."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's it! How'd you know?"

"Adelz, detain Private Rio."

Before Malon realized what was happening, Rio's hands were snatched and held tightly behind his back.

"Hey, hey hey!" Rio smiled casually. "What gives?"

"Private Rio, under my authority as Brigadier General of the Royal Knights and under the jurisdiction of His Royal Majesty of the Kingdom, you are hereby placed under military arrest."

"On what charges?"

"Perjury, and reckless endangerment."

"Perjury? Seriously? The city's under attack and  _that's_ what you charge me for? Don't you have bigger fish to fry, lady?"

"Keep him under your watch, Adelz. We don't have time for a detour or a full arrest. He'll have to come with us to the temple."

"What are you doing?!" Malon cried. "It was just a prank! He didn't mean to endanger anyone!"

"Young lady," Impa spoke irately, stopping Malon in her tracks. "Do not interfere with my business. You are here as an accompanied guest, not a third party. Your only purpose for being here is to meet with your family. It is not your place to voice your opinion in this matter, and it is not up for discussion."

"But you didn't even-"

"Not. Up for discussion."

"It's okay, Malon," Rio soothed. "It's just a misunderstanding. I'll get it sorted out, no sweat. You just worry about Link."

"But…"

Impa continued to the temple, followed by Adelz and a handcuffed Rio. Malon sighed.

"Me and my big mouth."

She hurried to catch up, and the four walked in silence for the remainder of the time until they reached the temple.

"…Crap."

When they arrived, a new barrier awaited them. A hundred dark knights stood around the temple's perimeter and entrance, each with a pike in hand. Waiting at the foot of the temple's stairs were Raven, Ashei, and a handful of gangly soldiers wearing armor two sizes too big. The dark knights' hollowed eyes followed them as the little group approached Raven's tiny unit.

"Raven!" Impa called as she neared him. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure. We just got here a few minutes ago."

"Has anyone tried approaching the temple?"

"Yeah," Ashei said as she rubbed her neck. "And I nearly got a pike in tha throat for it."

Impa turned to the few knights standing behind him.

"How many soldiers do we have do we have?"

"About thirty."

"That's  _all_?"

"We did the best we could with the hour we had," Ashei barked. "I'd like ta see you do better!"

"Oh, never mind. Do we have any idea what the dark knights are doing?"

"Look!"

Malon pointed up to the temple's stained glass windows. Lights flashed brightly inside.

"What's going on in there?"

Suddenly, a marble statue shattered one of the windows as it came sailing out of the temple and hurdled down toward them.

"Get back!"

Everyone scattered as the statue plummeted to the ground and broke into pieces. Glass fragments showered down onto the dark knights' armor, but they held their positions. Panicked voices shouted from inside the temple.

"Watch out for that one up there!"

"That was the princess's voice!" Raven realized.

"Link, look out!"

Another bright flash lit up, followed by the sound of a blast.

"Link!"

"And that was Navi," Impa groaned. "We have to get into that temple."

"And how d'ya suggest we do that?" Ashei raised her eyebrow. "These dark knights ain't here 'cuz they're waitin' ta have a tea party."

Raven and Impa sighed almost simultaneously.

"Three against one," Impa rubbed her forehead. "These odds couldn't be any worse."

"Are you kiddin'? That just makes it more fun!"

Ashei licked her lips and swiped two sabres from her sheath.

"You're in charge, Lady Impa," Raven drew a sword and shield. "We'll follow on your command."

"No. You won't."

Ashei and Raven exchanged baffled looks while Impa turned to the soldiers and spoke.

"Eyes front!" Impa commanded, and the young knights stood at attention.

"Gentlemen, I do not know how much Colonel Raven has informed you of the situation, so allow me to fill you in. We are in a crisis, the worst since the Hyrulean Civil War. More than half of our troops have forsaken the honor and glory that comes with being a Royal Knight, and have betrayed us to the dark forces. You stand before us as true, worthy members of the army, not because of your skill in battle or number of foes killed, but because you have proven that when the chips are down you hold onto your code of ethics and remain loyal to those whom you have pledged. Let me be the first to say 'thank you' for your bravery by offering you this information."

She pointed to the Temple of Time.

"Inside that temple are the two most important figures to exist in the history of Hyrule. One is the person you men have sworn allegiance to, and the other a legend which you aspire to. The first is Princess Zelda, the only remaining member of the Royal Family and your monarch. She stands as a beacon of true leadership and wisdom for the kingdom. Right now, she is fighting for her life against an unknown assailant, and she needs your help more than ever. She needs the strength and courage that you've sworn to her, your loved ones, and your country.

"The other individual in that temple, fighting alongside Her Royal Majesty, is the Hero of Time."

A glimmer appeared on the gangly knights' faces.

"I've met him myself, and I can assure you that what I say is no joke. A young man, who has never held a sword in his life, has pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal deep within the Temple of Time, and now risks everything He holds dear for the sake of the kingdom. He fights not only for the monarch or the kingdom, but for the very values you men have sworn to live by: courage, truth, and the honor that comes only from defending the weak and innocent."

She pointed again at the temple.

"The only thing standing between you and that honor tonight are the empty shells of those who betrayed their kingdom. They were men whom you once fought alongside! They sacrificed their souls to those you have sworn to fight against! They haven't just betrayed the kingdom or the army or its leaders; they have betrayed you! They have stabbed you in the back and left you to fend for yourselves on a night that was set aside for celebration, but has become a night of terror and fear in the hearts of the citizens!

"Gentlemen, tonight you do not take orders from me. Tonight, your orders come directly from Her Royal Majesty and the Hero of Time. They are waiting inside the temple to give you your command. Are you going stand here and wait for them to die, or will you heed their call and aid them in this hour of need?"

The knights raised their swords and shields to the sky and chanted, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"Gentlemen, prepare for battle!"

"Yeah!"

"That was a lovely speech, Impa," Raven smiled.

"I suppose. It's too bad they're all going to die."

* * *

Zelda fired light arrows that phased through one of Agahnim's clones then ran when it launched a magic attack at her. Link had taken to throwing statues, benches, displays, and whatever else he could find at the two other sorcerers.

_"I'm sure glad the spirits gave me these golden gauntlets."_

"Can't you throw another statue?!"

_"I'm trying, Navi, but it keeps missing!"_

"Well try again!"

_"I am!"_

Link threw another statue, but it zipped through Agahnim's silhouette as if he wasn't there.

_"What the heck is going on?!"_

"They're not clones!" Zelda called from her side of the temple. "They're illusions! We have to find out which one is the real Agahnim!"

_"Just because they aren't real, doesn't mean their attacks aren't! How do we figure out which one is the real Agahnim without getting roasted?"_

Two energy balls hurdled toward Link, and he swung his sword at them both. The first zipped back through the illusion that threw it, distorting its silhouette, and the other recoiled unevenly and wobbled as it flew sideways into a nearby statue.

"There!" Navi shouted. "The last one we haven't hit yet! That's him!"

As soon as she spoke, the three images of Agahnim disappeared, shuffled in the air, and reappeared randomly.

"Oh come on!"

"It's pointless," the Agahnims chanted in unison. "You are going to die here. I'll kill you, take back the princess, and take this kingdom for my own! Hyrule is mine!"

A flicker darted over one of the clone's outline, drawing Link's attention. He squinted at the three copies and watched as distortions flit across two of the clones forms, but not the third.

"That's weird," Navi thought suddenly to herself. "What's that sound?"

She darted away from Link and up to the shattered window where she peaked outside.

"Oh no! Zelda, Link! You might wanna see this!"

_"We're kind of busy at the moment!"_

"But it's Impa and the others! They must be fighting every dark knight in the city!"

Upon hearing Navi's discovery, Zelda turned instinctively to the temple's heavy doors and pushed herself as hard as she could against them, but they didn't budge.

"Don't bother."

Each of Agahnim's doppelgangers took their turn to speak, and the result was that Agahnim finished his own sentences the way twin siblings would.

"That door is sealed tight with magic, and my guards will never let anyone in or out."

"You three will never escape this temple, and your friends will never defeat my dark knights."

"You're all as good as dead."

"Impa!" Navi shouted. "I'm coming to help!"

She buzzed out the rose window and down to the soldiers while the three copies charged their successive attacks.

"Say goodbye, little boy."

_"I... I can see."_

They launched their electric orbs. Link dodged the first two, then swung his sword at the last ball and sent it back toward one of the apparent clones. Instead of fizzling away, this Agahnim screamed in surprise and pain while the others disappeared.

"You! That was a lucky shot! Let's see you handle this!"

With a twist of his wrist, Agahnim split this time into five copies, all of which charged and launched even more attacks at Link, who jumped and darted out of the way, batted at another of the balls and sent it flying back to the real Agahnim once again.

In a fury, Agahnim slashed his hand through the air and the temple was filled with a hundred of him. They all began to launch successive attacks.

Link's chest felt as though it was going to burst as he ran through the temple and evaded the oncoming orbs. He glimpsed through and saw flickers moving across all the clones.

_"Come on, where is he? I know the real one is in here somewhere!"_

"LINK! HELP ME!"

Zelda's cries from the other side of the temple caught his attention and he took off, shoving past the clones as made his way to Zelda, being held up by her throat by Agahnim. He was charging another electric attack in his hand.

_"LEAVE HER ALONE!"_

Link gripped the Master Sword tightly in both hands, jumped into the air toward Agahnim, and drove the blade deep into his back.

* * *

The shields of the royal knights clashed against the pikes and breast plates of the dark knights. The rookies slashed their knives awkwardly as each one fought off three opponents. Raven stood his guard on the lower temple steps as two knights attacked him from higher up. He parried a pike with his sword while blocking another that crashed heavily onto his shield. In the meantime, Ashei had dropped one of her twin blades and had resorted to kicking away the dark knights with the spikes on her boots.

"Look out behind you!" Navi shouted, and Raven turned around in time to dodge a third dark knight attempting to stab him from behind.

With a longsword in hand, Impa cut each dark knight she encountered in half and sprinted to the next.

"There's too many, and they have the higher ground!" Raven retaliated by thrusting his sword at the dark knight behind him. "What do we do?!"

"We keep fighting!" Ashei shouted back. "This party's just gettin' started!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the dark knights' onslaught ended. They retracted their pikes, stood in a ready position, and ignored the swords whose attacks couldn't be stopped midblow. The privates of the Royal Army slowed to a halt as they realized that their opponents weren't fighting back.

"What in the world?"

Raven gazed curiously at the three dark knights who just a moment ago attacked him on sight, but now stood as if they didn't notice him. A few of the young recruits poked their swords at the motionless armor out of confusion, to which Impa chastised them.

"Don't do that!" she said sharply.

"What gives?" Ashei grumbled. "I was just starting ta have fun."

"Something must have happened in the temple," Impa spoke gravely. "We've got to get in there."

"Will these guys even…" began Navi. "You know, let us in?"

"Only one way to find out," Raven answered as he sheethed his sword and moved cautiously past the knights. Not a creak came from their empty armor to follow him, so he strode up the stairs to the temple's entrance, followed by Navi, Impa, Ashei, and the group of ragtag soldiers.

"Wait here," Impa said to Adelz as he held Rio under arrest.

"Well, this sucks," Rio grumbled. No one saw the smile he wore on his lips.

* * *

"Ha- How…how did you know…which one was the real me?"

The white rage that had entered Link's mind faded, and he staggered back from the dark sorcerer with his hands up.

_"Aah_ _…I_ _…I_ _…"_

"You…you wretched…insignificant worm!"

_"I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"_

"Link," Zelda shook her head and put her hand on his shoulder. "He would have killed me if you had not interfered."

_"But I-"_

"Do not apologize for doing what is right."

Link couldn't take his eyes away from Agahnim, who fell to his knees and then onto his stomach. He pointed a gnarled finger up at Link.

"I'll get you! I'll get you for this! I'll-… I'll…"

His curse softened into whispers, and then ceased. His eyes fixed onto Link and Zelda as the last of his life seemed to fade away. Link's breath finally caught up with him, and he began to tremble.

"Your Highness!" Raven called from outside. "Are you there?"

"Yes!" Zelda called back and hurried to the door. "I'm all right! Link is with me!"

"Hold on! We're coming in!"

Link walked past Zelda and grabbed hold of the giant handles.

"Tell the others to move away!" Zelda ordered. "Link will open it!"

The muscles in his arms stiffened as he pushed with the strength of his gauntlets. The doors swung open slowly, and the first thing he saw was blank faces, none that he could make out.

"Link? Are you okay?"A voice asked that he didn't understand was Navi's. His head was reeling from the images from tonight's dead bodies; the soldier in the dungeon, and Agahnim lying a few feet away.

Link lurched when his stomach tightened suddenly.

_"Oh no."_

He ran back into the temple, but didn't make it far before falling to his hands and knees and throwing up. Zelda rushed to him and swept his hair away from his face.

"Geez," said one of the soldiers under his breath. "Poor kid."

Marble statues laid crumbled and overturned all along the crater-filled floor. Nearly all of the stained glass windows were destroyed, and the broken glass crunched under the boots of the others as they filed hesitantly into the temple.

"What a mess," Ashei shook her head. "Shad ain't gonna be happy when he finds out what happened here."

"Waah!" one if the ragtag soldier's jumped and startled the others, who turned and had similar reactions to Agahnim's dead body.

"Good Lord, boy!" Impa stated in surprise and exasperation. "What in the world happened here?"

"It's a long story, Impa," Zelda replied as she lifted Link's arm around her shoulders. "Will you be able to walk, Link?"

 _"I've been in Hyrule City for two days and so far I've been ganged up on by soldiers_ and  _bokoblins, dislocated my shoulder several times, nearly drowned twice, fell from the castle roof, cut with a dagger, knocked out, had my arm crushed, kicked across a room multiple times, and electrocuted, and that's only the stuff I can remember. Forget walking, I'm just glad to be alive!"_

"I know. I'm sorry, Link."

_"This is like the worst day ever."_

In spite of his fatigued and empty stomach, Link was able to walk well enough to the others without Zelda's help. When he got there though, he plopped down against a column to rest.

"Damn!" Ashei excla*+-imed. "You're in worse shape than the rest of us. I wouldn't trade places with you anytime soon."

"Will you be okay?" Navi uttered worriedly as she sat on his lap.

_"I'll be all right. I just need a moment to rest is all."_

"Are you sure?"

_"_ _…Yeah."_

His eyes were fixed on Agahnim's corpse in front of him, but he was staring into space.

_"I killed a man_ _…out of blind rage_ _…I wanted him to die, so without even thinking I killed him."_

"Link? Link?"

Navi's voice trembled as she tried to break his dark train of thought, but he ignored her and stared into Agahnim's clouded eyes.

_"He's dead because of me."_

He heard glass crack right next to him, so he turned his head and saw one of the rookies approach him. He was the same age as Link.

"Ah, sorry," the rookie laughed nervously. "I'm just, I mean, I wanted to see you up close."

Link blinked up at him. The soldier scratched his head.

"I guess that's the guy who did all this, right? It's always the Royal Advisors, isn't it?"

Link looked back to Agahnim and then to the floor in front of him.

"This place sure is a wreck. He must've been really mad when you tried to stop him."

_"Actually, I think I'm the one who did most of this when I tried throwing statues at him, but I'm not telling him that."_

"Sir," the soldier began. "Forgive me for saying so, but it looks like you're just as new to the business as I am."

_"Yeah_ _… I really am."_

Link pulled himself up from the column and staggered over to Agahnim's body.

"Man!" the soldier cursed. "I knew I shouldn't have said that! He must think I'm an idiot!"

"Don't worry," Navi patted his shoulder. "Link is just lost in thought is all. He didn't mind what you said."

"But he didn't even say anything to me!"

"That's because he can't. He's mute."

"What?"

"Yeah, a tree fell on him when he was a kid."

The soldier's face twisted into an expression of mixed suspicion and confusion.

"I can't tell if you're joking or not."

"It's true! I swear!"

Link analyzed the Master Sword lodged in Agahnim's back. He swallowed hard to keep his stomach from lurching again.

_"Here goes."_

He grasped the handle and pulled. He was surprised to find that the sword slid out smoothly.

_"Hello again, Master."_

_"Whoa."_

_"What is the matter?"_

_"I didn't think the sword would come out so nicely. I was afraid it was stuck in his backbone or something."_

_"Not to worry, Master. You are the true holder of the Master Sword, and so you will always be able to remove it from any pedestal, no matter how_ _…grotesque_ _…that pedestal may be."_

_"Interesting."_

Nearby, Zelda spoke directly to Impa, Raven, and Ashei.

"And you're positive Agahnim was behind the attack?"

"Yes, Impa. He imprisoned me in my own room while he sent the bokoblins to attack the citizens, and he attacked Link here in the temple. He also commanded the demon Ghirahim to kill my father. Ghirahim is still somewhere in the city and we must find him. He is overseeing some kind of ritual which we must stop as well."

"What are your orders, Your Majesty?"

"Search the castle high and low for Ghirahim. It's where Agahnim kept me imprisoned, and I'm willing to bet it's where he operated from, too. Be careful of the dark knights, though."

"There is no need, Your Highness," Raven informed her. "The dark knights we battled outside are frozen, and haven't moved since we came inside. I'm willing to guess it's because the Hero of Time killed their controller, Agahnim."

Link knelt down and slipped his hands under Agahnim's chest. His robes were heavy, but Link managed to flip him onto his back. He put his hand over his eyelids and closed them.

"If that's the case," explained Zelda. "Then the same must be true for the rest of the dark knights in the city. We need to expel them from the city, but if they are no longer of any immediate danger to the city then I'd rather deal with the bokoblins first. Close all the gates and entries into the city. Look for tunnels and any secret entrances they may have made. Kill any and all bokoblins that you encounter."

"You heard her, gentlemen," Impa pointed to the soldiers. "Let's go!"

"I'm glad to see you safe and sound, Your Highness," Ashei replied.

"No one is safe yet."

As Link turned Agahnim onto his back, the boomerang peaked out from his robes.

_"Oh yeah. My boomerang."_

"Lady Impa!" Adelz sprinted into the temple. "Rio is gone!"

"What do you mean, 'gone?'"

"I had him in custody one moment, and the next he disappeared!"

Impa looked over just in time to see Link reach down for the boomerang.

"STOP!"

Agahnim's hand suddenly seized Link's wrist.

"ZOMBIE!" Navi shrieked.

"Not quite, little girl."

These words came from Agahnim's mouth, but it was not Agahnim's voice that spoke. Instead of the hoarse, angry tone they heard earlier, the sound of his voice was soft, low, and bittersweet. Link looked down at Agahnim's burning yellow eyes, and it was then that he panicked. He squirmed within the tight grasp.

_"Let me go!"_

"Why? So you can wrench that silly sword of yours into my back again?"

Link stopped writhing in horror.

_"Y-you can hear me?!"_

"Of course I can. What do you take me for?"

By now, the others realized what was happening and watched in terror as Agahnim's dead body rose to its feet as a puppet does, while holding Link's arm. Heavy trudging echoed through the temple as the dark knights stomped inside and surrounded them. The temple doors slammed shut, sealing them inside.

_"LET GO!"_

"As you wish."

Agahnim swung his arm and released, sending Link flying across the chapel.

"Link!" Navi trailed after him, followed by Malon. He crashed into the altarpiece and collapsed onto the floor.

"Show yourself, demon!" Zelda hissed. "I know you're little more than an imposter!"

"I should hope so. I left that soldier to die in that hallway just for you."

"Who are you?!"

"I know who he is!"

Impa stepped forward and pointed at Agahnim.

"You're an enemy of the state who has been in hiding for the last seventeen years. You're the reason why the Civil War ended on such horrible terms, and why the massacre of Hyrule City took place. The real Agahnim's been dead all this time, hasn't he?"

"That is correct."

As Impa spoke, Agahnim lifted his hand to his forehead, and in one fell swoop tore off his face and skin.

Underneath the Royal Advisor's ugly visage stood a new man who towered over the others at seven feet tall, with shoulders three feet wide. His skin changed from ghastly blue to a golden rust, and his hair to fiery red. Even though the rough muscles of his chest, arms and legs swelled into his fitting, barbaric uniform, his appearance was far from uncivilized. Thick grooves ran along his forehead and chin, but even in his apparent age this new man had a handsome face and magnetic smile. He looked down at Impa and the others, furrowed his thick eyebrows, and showed his teeth in a patronizing grin as he began to chuckle.

"My name," he finally said. "Is Ganondorf. Ganondorf Dragmire."


	20. Ordona 19: Hyrule Boss, Part 2

"Seize him!"

The soldiers charged at Impa's command. Ganondorf took one look at the fledgling knights and rolled his eyes.

"Oh please."

With a wave of his hand, Impa and the knights were flung across the temple, thrown by an unseen force.

"Now," he said, brushing his hands. He reached into his breast pocket, took out Link's boomerang and tossed it aside. Then he turned toward Zelda.

"Be a good girl and stand before me."

The Princess froze where she stood and shot daggers at him.

"There is no 'my way or highway' option, dear. You will do as I say, whether you want to or not."

He raised his hand again, and Zelda lifted off the floor and floated to his side. She writhed under Ganondorf's magical grasp.

"Let me go," she seethed.

"Or what?"

When she didn't answer, he smirked.

"Hyrule City is mine now, Princess. You don't make the rules anymore. I do."

_"No! Let her go!"_

Link leapt to his feet, ran to over and brandished his sword in a shaky fighting stance. Ganondorf glanced at him with bored look.

"You don't know who I am, do you?"

He lowered Zelda to her feet, but did not release her.

"You may not know me, but I know you, young Hero. I will not make the same mistakes as my predecessor by underestimating your abilities. However…"

_"Nngh!"_

Link felt himself lift off the ground and fly over to Ganondorf.

"You are nowhere near ready to stand against me. Even if you were in perfect health, your training in the way of the blade is pitiful at best. And from the look of this temple I'd say your battle with my alter–ego has taken its toll on you."

Impa picked herself off the ground and drew a dagger in each hand. Ashei helped Raven to his feet, and the two joined her.

"Release them this instant!" Impa demanded.

"Relax. I have no interest in harming anyone. Not yet, anyway."

Ganondorf lowered one hand, and Link fell to the floor flat on his rump.

"I'm sure you all have many concerns, and since I'm in a talkative mood, I'll do my best to answer them. I might even let the princess go if you ask the right questions."

"We don' discuss  _anything_  with enemies of the state!" Ashei proclaimed, pointing her sword at him. "Give us back Princess Zelda, or prepare for the beat–down of your life!"

Ganondorf frowned.

"Let me rephrase that."

Suddenly, Zelda started gasping for air and clawing at her throat.

"Start talking, or the Princess dies."

"Stop! Please," begged Impa. "We'll–…we'll do whatever you want."

Zelda stopped choking, and Ganondorf smiled.

"Your offer is favorable, but I must decline. It's not about what I want—I've got what I want right here in my hand. This is about what  _you_ want."

"Us?" Raven asked.

"To be more specific, what  _he_ wants."

He pointed to Link, who stepped back at the unexpected imposition.

_"M–me?"_

"Don't act so shocked, boy. Did you think after all that has happened tonight, you'd get off scott–free? Did you believe you'd take the princess, kill me, and go home a pretty little hero? You have no clue what's going on, do you?"

Ganondorf squeezed his hand, and Zelda choked again.

_"Stop! Don't hurt her!"_

"Then think, young man. Think."

_"Why are you doing this?! Why are you here?"_

"Good, good."

Zelda stopped choking and Ganondorf held his hands out.

"I think it's fairly obvious what I'm looking for, isn't it?"

"…"

"Isn't it?!"

Zelda's gasps started up again, and Link flinched.

"… _the Triforce!…It's the Triforce, right?"_

"There you go. Was that so hard?"

"Leave him alone!"

Malon stepped forward and brandished the dagger Impa gave her. She wore an angry scowl, but she shook in her boots.

"I won't let you hurt Link!"

" _No! Malon!"_

Link ran around Ganondorf and held his hands out in front of Malon.

_"Get back! I don't want him hurting you, too."_

"This matter is of no concern to you. Go home, little girl."

"Little g– why you!"

Malon charged forward only to be stopped by Link. He grasped the dagger's blade tightly in his hand.

_"I can take care of him, so please..."_

"Link, you…"

His gloves protected his hands, but drops of blood fell from Link's fingertips where the dagger grazed him.

_"I'll be okay. Don't worry about me."_

Malon turned away with tears in her eyes.

"You idiot…"

She ripped the dagger out of Link's hand, threw it to the ground, and sulked away.

_"I'm sorry, Malon."_

"Hmph!"

"Link," Navi whispered. "You're bleeding…"

_"I'm okay_ _…"_

He faced Ganondorf again.

_"What do you want with the Triforce?"_

"Good question. I intend to use it to rule over the land of Hyrule. It's the same reason my predecessor's wanted it for the last twenty–five thousand years."

_"You keep mentioning your predecessor_ _…what does he have to do with this?"_

"Do you think you are the only one reborn whenever the need arises?"

Ganondorf pointed to the one, unbroken stained glass window left in the entire temple. Where all the other windows had been bright and showed lovely figures of the Goddesses, the Hero, or the Princess, this window was dark and menacing. A towering man in black robes stood with his back to the temple. He flashed a twisted grin and followed the viewer through the temple with his shining yellow eyes.

"You'd think we would've noticed that window," Navi said out loud to no one.

"Do you see now, young Hero? Even though our purposes may differ, the height of my destiny in this land is just as great as yours. Were it not for me, you wouldn't even exist. With the power of the Triforce in my hand, I'll take this city, its nation, and the continent for myself."

"If you're so knowledgeable of the legend," Raven spoke, "then you'd know that the Dark Lord has failed every time he's tried to take the Triforce. What makes you think you'll be any different?"

Ganondorf turned to Raven and considered him carefully.

"You look familiar."

Link blinked and the Dark Lord was gone.

_"Wha–?!"_

"Where'd he go?!" Navi cried.

Malon yelped, and Link whipped around. The others jumped back as Ganondorf reappeared in front of Raven and stared him down. Raven stood tall and scowled back.

"I can't shake the feeling that we've met before."

At Ganondorf's words, Raven's opposing demeanor shattered. The look on his face melted from endurance to terror. His sword slipped out of his hand and landed with a clatter onto the floor.

"Ah, now I see it. All grown up now, are you?"

"Raven," Ashei called. "What's wrong?"

He did not reply, but stepped away from Ganondorf until his back was to the wall. Link grabbed madly for the boomerang which lay a few feet away.

"Sixteen years…Last time I saw you, you were a lanky little punk who peed his pants at the first sight of danger. And now you're a big strong soldier, is that it?

Ganondorf's hand swung out just in time to grab the boomerang flying toward him from behind. He whirled around and glared at Link angrily.

"Don't you know not to interrupt adults when they're talking?!"

He stomped away from Raven, leaving him to fall to his hands and knees.

"Dammit," one of the soldiers hissed. "Can't we do something?!"

"We can't risk having the princess killed," Impa answered. "And we've got too many dark knights surrounding us. No one moves, except on my order."

Ganondorf marched up to Link, grabbed his neck and lifted him high into the air.

"After all that's happened tonight, you still haven't learned a damn thing. I, on the other hand have learned a great many things, especially about the Triforce."

Fear spread across Zelda and Link's faces.

"That's right," Ganondorf chuckled evilly. "I know all about your little wish,  _and_ the supposed grace period the Triforce requires. These facts are of no concern to me. I've foreseen these events and planned ahead for them. In fact, this is the best case scenario I had in mind for acquiring the Triforce."

Ganondorf removed his glove and revealed his hand for all to see. Three triangles glowed on the back, the top radiating brightest of all. As if on cue, the marks on Zelda and Link's hands began to glow.

"Look well, everyone! The Triforce pieces are resonating. They wish to become one again. And when they do, they will belong to me!"

_"Never."_

Ganondorf flashed Link a stern look. Link's sharp blue eyes glared back furiously.

_"I'll never let you have the Triforce for–_ _…for as long as I live! You'll get when you pry it from my cold, dead hands!"_

"Master!"

The demon Ghirahim appeared in a flash of black crystals.

"Forgive my intrusion, but the preparations for the ceremony are complete. We are ready to summon the Wind Mage."

"Excellent. Let us bring him forth."

Ganondorf threw Link to the ground, faced Raven and replied, "You asked how I would go about taking this city for myself, so now I will show you. Link, why don't you be a good boy, and keep the Hero of Time preoccupied?"

_"Is_ _…is he talking to me?"_

"Watch out!" cried Navi. "Behind you!"

Link swerved and narrowly missed the knife driving into his back.

"Rio…" Malon breathed, wide–eyed.

Link looked around and met Rio's bloodthirsty gaze.

"Hold still, will ya?" he complained. Rio jabbed for Link's shoulder, who danced out of the way.

_"What are you doing?!"_

"What's it look like, stupid?! I swear, you're so dense."

"Stop him!" Ashei dashed toward Rio, but was stopped midway and assaulted by a dark knight.

"Get outta my way!"

She screamed angrily and kicked the armor's leg. She ducked underneath as the knight brought its pole arm down on her. The others charged toward the rest of the dark knights and took them on. Rio continued waving his knife at Link.

"Adelz!" Impa commanded. "Take Ganondorf down!"

Adelz leapt into the air, released a hidden blade from his cuff and drove toward Ganondorf, but was intercepted. Ghirahim thrust himself in front of him, grabbed Adelz's wrist and ripped the hidden blade from his gauntlet. Adelz reacted by drawing a short knife and charging at Ghirahim. The demon slid aside, drew his own rapier, and began parrying Adelz's attacks.

"This way, Princess."

Ganondorf carried the levitating Zelda into the center of the temple and flipped her in midair onto her stomach. Beneath her, a crimson pentagram with sinister symbols adorning its points lit up the crumbled marble floor.

"What are you doing…?"

"You'll see soon enough."

Zelda swallowed hard and peered through the temple. She cast her eyes to Impa, Ashei and Raven, all held back by the dark knights and unable to reach her. She looked to Adelz, stuck in useless combat with Ghirahim who only danced away from his attacks. Finally, she watched as Link stumbled clumsily out of Rio's reach.

"It's hopeless…" she said quietly.

"Princess?"

Zelda looked for the voice that called her, and came face to face with Malon. The two girls, one of royal blood, and one of humble birth, watched each other helplessly.

"Please," Malon said hoarsely. "Please…help Link."

Tears welled in Zelda's eyes, so she searched the temple again. Her head whirled in every direction, looking for something to help her, anything that would get her and her friends out of this, but found nothing.

"Don't bother, Princess," Ganondorf taunted. "Not even the Goddess of Light can save you now."

At Ganondorf's words, a thought came to her mind.

"Light…light!"

Zelda reached around her back and undid the strap of her quiver.

"Take these!"

She threw her bow and quiver, and they clattered to the floor in front of Malon.

"Wha…what do I do?"

"Link! Your ocarina! Hurry!"

"You're too late."

Smoke began to rise from the pentagram and burned flakes from Zelda's skin on contact. At the touch of the smoke, screams of pain burst from her mouth.

_"Princess!"_

Link whipped his head around to the sound of Zelda's screaming.

"Pay attention," Rio chuckled, and wrenched his knife into Link's stomach.

"LINK!"

Link stumbled back and stared down at the knife in his abdomen. Rio's fist flew out, struck Link's shoulder, and knocked him onto his back.

"Now hold still."

He pinned Link's arms down with one hand and knelt over him. Rio grinned down at Link as he straddled him and put his lips to his ear.

"You're going to love this next part," Rio moaned, and tore out the knife. Malon froze in horror as Rio raised the bloodied dagger for all to see.

"Finally! His blood! IT'S MINE!"

Ashei smashed in the helmet of the dark knight blocking her path and took off toward Rio, followed after by Raven and Navi.

"YOU BASTARD!" Ashei screamed.

He smirked and vanished into the shadows before she reached him.

"Where are you?!" she demanded. "Come out an' fight, you bloody coward!"

"Ashei," Raven spoke quietly. "Help me."

Raven knelt by Link, who laid helpless as he stared up at the ceiling. A pool had formed from the blood seeping out of his stomach.

_"I can't breathe..."_

"Just hold on, Link," Raven breathed. "You'll be alright."

Link twisted his head and watched Raven's death–stricken face. Navi sat on Raven's shoulder and sobbed. Link stared past them and watched Zelda claw at her hands and face. The burning flakes of skin were forming a silhouette on the pentagram.

_"Princess_ _…"_

He reached out for the Master Sword laying a few feet away, but only managed to lift his fingers.

"Don't move," Ashei's voice cracked as she spoke.

"Over here, losers."

They looked around and found Rio standing on the opposite side of the pentagram from Ganondorf.

"Get a load of this."

"Quit showing off," Ghirahim scoffed, holding Adelz back from rushing to Link's side. "You've got work to do!"

Rio put the knife to his lips, closed his eyes, and licked the bloody blade. His tongue moved slowly from the heel to the point as he took Link's blood into his mouth.

"Eww," Navi chocked out in between her sobs.

Rio tossed the knife aside and fell to his hands and knees, giggling. The others watched as billows of black smoke moved down the skin of his throat and spread across his face and arms. His giggling erupted into manic, evil laughter as the smoke engulfed his body and obscured him within a black sphere.

Impa sliced a dark knight in half and finally freed herself. She ran toward the others to help, but froze. To her left, Adelz struggled to fight back against Ghirahim and would soon be on the receiving end of his sword. In front of her, Zelda cried out as her skin fell piece by piece onto the pentagram. To her right, Link laid with the open gash in his stomach and bled out. She looked back and forth between the three, grimaced and put her hand to her face.

"What do I…"

Zelda caught Impa's gaze and pointed to Link.

"Please..." she moaned.

Impa hesitated before running toward Link.

"What do we do?" asked Raven. "He's lost so much blood as it is."

She moved her outstretched hands quickly over Link's stomach, then answered, "I can heal him, but I'll need help. Navi."

The fairy jumped at the sound of her name.

"Have you got enough magic in you for something like this?"

Ashei started, "Don't fairies die if they heal people?"

Navi trembled as she looked down at Link's body.

"I…I don't…"

"There's no time to decide. Either help me, or he dies."

Tears dropped from Navi's eyes as she nodded. She dropped from Raven's shoulder to Link's chest. Together, she and Impa stretched their hands over the gash in Link's abdomen. Light flowed from their fingertips and into the wound.

Link felt warmth return to his arms and legs. He lifted his head up and caught Navi's tearful gaze.

"Goodbye…" she whispered.

_"Wh–what? Navi, wait!"_

She collapsed onto his chest. He sat up and grabbed hold of her.

_"Navi! You..."_

"You've got work to do, Link," said Raven. "Leave her to us."

_"But she's–!"_

"She's not dead. The fact that you're still holding her is proof enough," Impa spoke quickly. "Give her to Raven, now."

He nodded and dropped the tiny fairy's body into Raven's open hand. He reached for the Master Sword some feet away and pulled himself shakily to his feet. He stumbled to Ganondorf as much as his sore stomach would allow.

_"Let the Princess go!"_

"Okay."

Zelda flew out of the pentagram and landed lopsided at Link's feet. Her gaze was empty, and her skin was raw and bleeding. Link bent down and held her in his arms.

_"What did you do to her?!"_

"Why don't you wait and see for yourself?"

_"No! Whatever you're doing to her, I won't let it continue!"_

He laid Zelda on the ground, marched up to Ganondorf and swung his sword down on him. A black blade parried his attack.

_"?!"_

Out of the corner of his eye a foot landed square in his chest and kicked him away. Link stumbled back and swung his arms to keep his balance, then looked up to face his new opponent.

_"What the–?!"_

"What do you think? Pretty cool, huh?"

Link recognized Rio's voice, but had to rub his eyes and look a second time. The person standing in front of him made his head spin. Rio's dark face, body, and clothing had mutated to mimic Link completely. Even his black sword matched the Master Sword in Link's hand. From the tip of Rio's cap to the point of his boots, Link couldn't help feeling he was peering into a dark mirror, where the only difference between them was color; Rio was black from head to toe, save for his flaming, sanguine eyes.

"Link," Malon gasped. "It's…"

"You," Rio finished her sentence. "But now it's me, and I'm loving it."

Rio stretched out his new arms and sighed in ecstasy.

"Oh god, I've waited so long for this."

"Keep him busy while I finish the summoning," Ganondorf ordered as he focused on the pentagram. "We're nearly done here."

"You got it."

Rio rushed forward and slammed his fist into Link's face without warning. Link crumpled to the ground from the blow.

"You have no idea what I had to go through just for a taste of your blood. I outta punish you for making me wait so long, but it's true what they say. Delaying gratification only makes the fruit of your labors that much sweeter."

He picked Link up by the collar of his tunic and lifted him to meet his gaze.

"And by the way, the name's not Rio anymore. It's Link. Dark Link."

Rio was seconds away from slugging Link a second time when another fist launched toward him. It struck Rio's shoulder and knocked him away.

"Keep your filthy hands off of him, you worthless shadow!" Raven yelled.

Rio took one look at Raven and snarled, "You're in my way."

"And that's where I'm staying!"

Rio roared and launched himself into a fist fight with Raven.

"Hurry Link!" Raven called out as he defended himself from Rio's delirious attacks. "You're the only one who can stop Ganondorf!"

"We'll take care 'a the Princess!" Ashei answered. "Stop him from summonin' whatever he's tryin' ta summon!"

_"What do I do? I can't attack Ganondorf head on! I'm no match for him!"_

"Link!" Malon cried out, and threw Zelda's bow and quiver. He caught them in midair, and stared back at her in confusion.

"Zelda said to use your ocarina, and gave those to me! But I don't know what she wanted me to do with them!"

Link looked at the ornate bow in his hand, then at Ganondorf, and pulled the Ocarina of Time out of his bag. He put the ocarina to his lips and played the first song he could think of, blowing through the notes as fast as he could.

_"Please let this work!"_

No sooner did he finish the song did heavy clouds form in the temple's ceiling. Thunder rolled as the clouds darkened, and drops of water began to fall. Rain began to pour heavily.

"Rain?" Ashei proclaimed in curiosity. "Indoors? What's goin' on?"

"He's played the Song of Storms. We better find something to hang onto."

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow. "What are you up to, boy?"

A strong gust was already picking up when Link raised Zelda's bow and nocked an arrow to the wood. He raised the bow and aimed for the stormy clouds. As he pulled back on the string, the head of the arrow filled with brilliant light.

_"Don't miss..."_

The arrow shot, pushed forward by the wind, and pierced the billowing veils. Everyone waited for several minutes. Nothing happened.

"Ha!" Ghirahim scoffed. "Whatever your little plan was, it failed! You–"

A drop landed on Ghirahim's cheek and stung him. He flinched at the sting and looked up. The fat drops of water slowed to a halt as the grey storm churned and swirled into glittering, golden clouds. Instead of raindrops, beams of light streamed down and landed in glowing puddles across the temple's shattered floor. The wind softened as the storm disappeared and faded into a shower of light.

All around the temple, light drops loosened the armor of the dark knights' who fought off the rookie soldiers. Piece by piece, the dark knights fell apart. The rookies watched in amazement as their opponents decomposed, and joined Impa and Ashei's side. Ghirahim twitched uneasily at the stinging pricks on his body, and released Adelz from his grip. Rio, meanwhile, shrieked in agony and hurled himself under the first intact church pew he could find.

The light drops plummeted onto Ganondorf's pentagram and smeared its edges until there was little left of the satanic symbol but a few broken lines. Ganondorf lowered his hands and glared up at the glittering clouds in annoyance. The city knights marched toward him and surrounded him on all sides, pointing their swords at him.

"You're under arrest, you evil demon!" Ashei proclaimed harshly.

"Hmm. This is a wrench in my plans."

"Master," Ghirahim spoke hoarsely. "With the destruction of our summoning grounds, there is no longer any point in remaining here. Even if I wanted to, I can't hold off all the soldiers and reconstruct the points."

"I agree. How about you, Link?"

"Are you kidding?! I just wanna get out of this fucking rain!"

"I suppose that's that, then."

"Oh no you don't!" Impa put a long dagger to Ganondorf's throat. "You and your little gang of troubadours aren't going anywhere."

Just as she spoke, hissing began to emanate from where the pentagram had been. Ganondorf grinned.

"You're right," he answered. "We aren't."

Link approached the pentagram remains and watched in silence. The hissing started as a soft leak―the way a tea pot boils―but grew louder until it resembled high–pitched screaming. Link began to hear a voice through the hissing, and realized that  _it_ was screaming.

_"Someone's in there!"_

"You're too late, Hero. Your rain dance might have destroyed my dark knights, but it didn't stop me from summoning the one person whose power rivals mine."

The scent of burning flesh exhaled from the remnants of the pentagram, making Link's nose sting. The specimen rising from the center appeared at first as an nothing more than an outline, but as the others watched, its structural systems began to take shape; first the dry, cracked bones materialized, next the rotting arteries and veins, and then the roasted muscles.

When no distinguishable features took shape, Ganondorf frowned. The grotesque, incomplete figure, formed from Zelda's skin, wobbled on its stiffened legs. Creaking erupted from its baked bones as it hobbled around, and smoke rose from the blackened muscles that showed through the crispy skin that managed to surface. The hollow skull of the fragmented body lifted its eyeless–socket gaze to Link, who stared in horror. It ripped open its mandible and let a gasping, blood–curdling scream out of its raw throat.

Link's stomach lurched for the third time that day, so he clasped his hands over his mouth.

_"Oh god, not again! There's nothing left in me to throw up!"_

"Ghirahim!" Ganondorf called. "Grab our new friend and let's go! We're outta here!"

"Finally!" Rio groaned as he climbed out from under his pew.

"Egh, with my hands?"

"Now! We can't have him dying on us while we make our escape!"

"You are  _not_ lea–" Impa started, but Ganondorf raised his hand and flung everyone to the other side of the temple before she could finish.

Raven, Adelz and the rookie knights smashed into nearby pillars and collapsed. Malon and Impa flew across the temple floor like skipping stones until they slid into the walls. Link flew the opposite direction, sailing through the air until he landed hard at the double door entrance. He heard a pop come from his shoulder as he hit the floor.

_"Oh come on! Not again..."_

He sat up to examine his arm but glanced away, and noticed Ganondorf walk to where Zelda' comatose body laid abandoned, and hoist her over his shoulder.

_"NO! PRINCESS!"_

"It was lovely meeting all of you, but business beckons."

"ZELDA!" Impa cried and broke toward him.

"Goodbye, young Hero. We'll meet again sooner than you know."

_"NO!"_

Link jumped to run at Ganondorf, but belly–flopped on the first step. With Zelda and the summoned creature in hand, Ganondorf and Ghirahim disappeared in a flash of smoke. Rio pointed and glared at Raven.

"Next time I see you," he vowed, "You're dead."

And he, too, was gone.


	21. Ordona 20: Epilogue

Dawn's first light hit Death Mountain's northern peak. It traveled south and struck against Ordona's wheat valley, and gold was everywhere as far as the eye could see. The sunrise finally reflected off Hyrule City's ramparts when Ganondorf and his minions left the temple.

Link stared at the spot where Ganondorf stood before he'd disappear. Ashei and Raven watched Impa carefully from behind as her shoulders slumped.

"…Impa?" Ashei uttered.

She did not reply, but let the sword drop out of her hand. She covered her face with her hands.

"I'm too old for this."

"Ashei," whispered Raven. "Let's get an assessment."

"Well?!"

The others turned to Malon at her outburst.

"Shouldn't we go after him?!"

"Go after him?"

"He just took Princess Zelda and we're standing around like grazing cattle! We have to find Ganondorf before he and the others get too far away!"

"Malon," Impa groaned. "Ganondorf just used a magnum transportation spell in order to escape. Right now, he's anywhere within a three-hundred mile radius from this temple."

"Th-… three hundred?!"

"Zelda's halfway across the country by now," Ashei sighed. She sat on a fallen pillar and wiped her lower lip with the back of her hand. "She could be as far as Death Mountain, or even Lake Hylia."

"Bu…but…"

"Ashei, Raven, go get that assessment now."

The two approached the group of knights and met with each one individually. The ones not being assessed removed their helmets and scabbards, and sat in circles while their dejected heads hung low. Malon crumpled into a fetal position and sobbed.

Link pulled himself up off his knees and looked around, scanning the ruined temple. Rose light filtered through the leftovers of the previous night's storm and into the shattered windows, whose stained glass shards now littered the grounds both inside and out. Big sections of the ceiling's mosaic laid in piles of dust on the destroyed marble floor. Chunks of granite had been blasted out of the aisles' groin vaults and arches. Fallen columns sectioned off the temple so that those inside moved through a maze. The altar, illuminated texts, glass displays and pews had been obliterated; pieces of wood, stone, glass, pottery and paper were scattered among the debris which gathered in the pools of light rain.

_"What a mess_ _…"_

Link tried to sigh, but stopped when a deep pain roared in his lungs. His abdomen had grown stiff from the bruise in his stomach where Rio stabbed him. He wondered if the adrenaline from his battle had dissipated, because fatigue was setting into his body. His feet ached, his knees shook, and he fought to keep his eyelids open, in spite of his exhaustion.

Link briefly caught his reflection in a nearby puddle, and gave a silent, weary cry at the state he found himself in. His tunic was torn and stained red with his own blood. The underlying chain-link armor dangled loosely in broken knee-length pieces, held together only by the few intact links left. Large scrapes decorated his elbows and knees while shallow cuts littered his arms, legs, hands and face. His left eye was purple and swollen shut. Link lifted his fingers to the eye, touched the lid gingerly, and drew back at the erupting sting.

_"What a waste of time_ _…"_

He stepped away from the puddle, walking feebly through the cathedral, his once-again dislocated arm slumped at his side. A thick fog settled on Link's brain as he staggered in no real direction. He almost stepped on Zelda's bow when he came upon it lying on the floor. He stepped back upon feeling the wood under his foot, then stared at it emptily before kneeling down―with great pain―and picking it up with his good arm. It still looked in good condition after being thrown across the temple, so far as he could tell. He put the bow across his shoulder and cradled his bad arm in the other.

" _I wonder where the quiver went."_

Link started up to look for the quiver, when he stopped. He blinked twice, squinted and stood, turning to the other end of the temple. Across the nave on the east side, from under a fallen column leaning against the wall, came a faint glimmer that Link would've missed if he hadn't seen its reflection in a nearby pool of light.

_"Is that_ _… what I think it is?"_

The others, preoccupied as they were, did not see Link limp over rubble and debris to the column. As he moved, a jagged flint caught his foot and sent an alarm through his leg to his brain. His other foot landed quickly to steady himself, then he continued. He came to the column and stooped to his knees. He put his weight onto his good arm, as if doing one-handed push-ups, and peered under.

_"It is_ _…and it's huge!"_

He lowered himself onto his stomach and reached for the object, but couldn't get anywhere near it. His prize clung to the back against a massive pile of marble out of his reach. The column was too far fallen for him to stoop underneath, much less get anything under but his arm, and walking around and snatching his item from the other side would be impossible. Link got back to his feet and stood there, thinking.

_"Now what?"_

He looked down at his Golden Gauntlets and sniffed.

_"The spirits said these things would let me lift a whole lot of weight, but my arm's out of its socket again. Will one hand be enough?"_

Link looked up to the massive column, as wide as he was tall, and clenched his fist.

_"I guess I've got nothing to lose by trying, right?"_

Had Link's other arm been any good, he would have clapped his cupped hands together and gone to work. He knelt back down, put his fingers underneath the massive column, took a hard breath through his nostrils, and pulled.

Nothing happened. The weight of the marble column was upon him, refusing to budge. Minutes of heavyweight lifting went by, but in spite of his efforts and screaming pains the column remained obstinate. Link wondered what he must have looked like trying to lift the giant structure off the wall. He was ready to give up and forget the whole thing, when the column suddenly jarred upward. Gravel and dust settled from the wall as the column rumbled loudly off its perch.

The others quickly turned to the rumbling, terrified that Ganondorf had returned. Relief replaced their irrational fear, but shock quickly took its place. Their mouths dropped.

"What is he-"

"Shh."

The shushing came from Adelz, who watched Link attentively.

"But he's gonna kill himself!" one of the soldiers whispered.

"Just watch," he replied.

Unaware of the others' gaze, Link realized his feat and gawked, but not for long. The heavy column teetered under his grip and was ready to fall out of his fingers. He pulled it up, lifting with his knees, until he held it at neck level. He shifted his wrist and hand underneath, and lifted until the column was high above his head.

_"I'm lifting a marble column that must weigh at least a thousand pounds. This shouldn't be possible, but I'm doing it!"_

"Is that…a  _heart_?" said a soldier, the same who approached Link earlier.

Link looked down at the large heart container, full to the brim and bigger than any he had found yet. The container gleamed seductively up at him, but the column wobbled under his one hand, borne up with no partner to stabilize it. Link had to sidestep back and forth to keep the column from falling on top of him.

_"Better do this quick."_

He kicked his leg up and hit the heart with the side of his foot, sending it coasting across the floor. A gentle ringing sang out as the heart glided, until it slid to a stop at Raven's feet. Raven stooped down for it, but Adelz stopped him, smacking an arm across his chest.

"Leave it."

"I was jus-"

"It's not yours. Don't touch it."

Without his foot to keep balance, Link fell to one knee and the column went down with him. There was a collective gasp among the soldiers. Link's hand went up and slapped the face of the column, halting his imminent death. His face contorted visibly under the weight of the column, and his whole frame shook from pain. He stood up and took slow steps back, sliding his hand further up the column, until he came to the spot where it had rested on the wall. Link jumped away, and the column fell back into place. This time, a collective sigh emerged from the soldiers.

"That was  _way_ too close," Ashei uttered while rubbing her eyes.

"Quite." Impa's face was expressionless, but she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead.

Link collapsed onto the floor and breathed as heavily as his inflamed lungs would allow. His eyes were sealed shut and his chest heaved up and down.

_"Just a minute. I just need a minute to rest. Then I'll get the heart."_

Exhaustion took over immediately, and he could feel himself falling asleep there on the floor. He was ready to drift away when footsteps approached, so he opened his eyes. A pair of red eyes met his, and at first he thought Lady Impa was standing over him.

"Get up," Adelz's voice said roughly. "Get off the floor and stop wasting time."

_"Wh-what?"_

"The object you just retrieved from under that column would not only ease your weariness. It will grant you even more strength and experience in addition to what you've earned tonight. You could return to full health, and then some, right now. Why would you knowingly forestall that kind of growth? Get up, Link. Get up now."

_"What's with you? Mmm, just give me a minute."_

Link laid on his side to turn away from Adelz, but was met with a sharp kick to the back.

_"Agh! What was that for?!"_

He jumped to his feet and stared angrily and confusedly into Adelz's burning red eyes.

"Your exhaustion is no excuse. In spite of what you've accomplished tonight, Ganondorf has still taken the Princess and you have still lost tonight's battle. You will need all the strength you can get if you want to have any chance of getting her back."

_"Getting her ba– Would you open your eyes?! I'm in no condition to go anywhere!"_

Link pulled at the tears in his tunic to convey his thoughts.

"Torn clothes can be mended and broken armor melded, but there are no quick fixes for a lazy disposition."

_"La– LAZY?!"_

Link's face reddened from shock and fury. He stood aghast at Adelz's accusation, unsure of what to think. Lazy was the last word he word he ever would've used to describe himself. His chest now heaved from anger.

 _"After everything I've done, you think I'm_ LAZY?!"

"You're so angry at me that you can't think straight, can you? You're breathing hard to keep from slugging me."

_"I will in a second if you keep talking!"_

"Would you like to know why I'm going out of my way to provoke you?"

_"Yeah! An explanation would be nice!"_

"Every person in this room has done nothing but praise you for your accomplishments, and you have repaid them with nothing but feelings of depressive inadequacy. Just now, as you were staring into the pool of light and admiring your reflection, the only thing you could think was how useless you felt yourself to be. Am I right?"

Link's heavy breathing came to an abrupt stop. He turned so Adelz wouldn't see his face. By now, the others had heard Adelz's raised voice, and were watching as he lectured Link.

"And that's not the first time you've willingly dragged yourself into the depths of misery. You thought yourself useless after standing up to the guards at the city gates in order to defend a Gerudo woman and her child."

_"Wait, how did you kn-"_

"You thought yourself useless after fighting to rescue Zelda from her kidnapper on the float in the parade. You thought yourself useless after fighting off a squad of Bokoblins in the sewers beneath the city. You thought yourself useless after infiltrating the castle, locating Princess Zelda, bringing her to safety, defeating one of the most powerful sorcerers of Hyrule in battle, and stopping the Demon King from commencing a plan that very well could have destroyed all of Hyrule! And just now, you lifted a thousand-pound column with one hand!

"But you don't care. As far as you're concerned, you're the most pathetic, squeamish, rotten little worm that has ever been this world's misfortune to bear. You're just a farm boy whose way in over his head in something that's none of his business."

 _"I am_ not! _"_

"If you're really that useless, maybe you should give back that sword and leave it for someone much more important and useful than you. In the meantime, we'll just plan the funerary service for Princess Zelda now, since nobody's going to bother helping her."

 _"What is_ wrong  _with_   _you?! Just shut up!"_

"And I guess you'll go back to die on your little ranch while Hyrule falls into Ganondorf's hands."

_"SHUT UP!"_

Link's fist flew into the column he'd carefully lifted moments ago, and it exploded on impact. Dust and bits of rock flew out and peppered Link's face. No one in the temple said a word. What happened next brought sadness to everyone's eyes, even Impa's. Link stood motionless with his arm extended and his fist clenched. He stared at the giant hole he'd punched into the column, and began to shiver. All at once, he collapsed onto his hands and knees, and cried.

 _"I tried_ _… so hard_ _… fought with all my strength. I did everything I could, but it wasn't enough. I'm sorry, Princess_ _… I'm_  still not _strong enough. I couldn't do anything_ _…"_

"Did that make you feel better?"

_"What do you care? You can't hear me_ __…_ No one can_ __…_ "_

"Link, I know what you've gone through here in the city, but I can only imagine what kind of adaptations you've had to make after the loss of your voice. You were once strong and brave, and you still are, but now you struggle and fight for expression, and I'm sure that's only the tip of the iceberg. This is a cruel thing I ask of you, but you must listen to me."

Link sat cross-legged on the floor and rubbed his eyes on the back of his sleeve. When he looked back, Adelz was holding out a glass bottle, sealed with a cork. Navi slept peacefully inside.

_"When_ _… How did you_ _…"_

"What makes Navi's pain worth less than yours?"

_"What?! I never-"_

"Or Impa's, or your sister's, or anyone else's? Everyone here shares in this failure tonight, not just you. Just because you've experienced more than anyone else here, does not mean that your pain hurts more than anyone else's. Now more than ever we need to share each others' burdens, not beat ourselves up. Having no voice is no longer an excuse to keep yourself down in the dumps."

Link reached for the bottle, but Adelz pulled it back before he could reach it.

_"_ _…I'm so tired of feeling worthless."_

When Adelz said nothing, Link continued.

_"I felt worthless at home on my ranch, I felt worthless here in Hyrule City, and now when I was fighting I still felt worthless. I wished with all my heart to the Triforce that I could be of some help to the Princess, but it was no use. I still couldn't save her. I've got this tunic and these gauntlets and the Master Sword, but even with all this_ _…I can't do anything_ _…"_

Adelz sat down quietly next to Link, who half-expected a second sermon, but was stumped when he looked up and saw the look on Adelz's face. The corners of his mouth turned up through the mask of wrapped linen to form a smile. His eyes were closed.

"Are you awake yet?" he asked softly. "No one's going to give you your self-esteem on a silver platter. Being the Hero of Time doesn't automatically make you a better person. You won't get self-confidence from making a wish on magic triangles. No ancient sword or any number of heroic deeds are going to change your self-image. Your attitude is what makes you feel good or bad about yourself at the end of the day, not how much good you do, or how others feel. You have to create your worth. If you feel useless, then do something about it."

Adelz stood back up and held out the bottle.

"Weakness is a choice. So is strength. Choose which one you want."

Link hesitated before grasping the bottle. As he did, Adelz grabbed his arm, yanked him up to his feet, and shoved Link forward. He took fast, awkward steps before steadying himself and walking on his own, his body crying out in agony as he moved.

_"Shut up_ _…"_

He cursed his body and wobbled forward, pushing through the stiffness in his stomach and the aching in his legs. Impa folded her arms and smiled as Link approached her and the group of soldiers. He stopped in front of Raven, peering down at the heart which rested by his boots.

_"Now to bend over, and pick it up."_

He braced himself to kneel down, but before he could, Raven knelt down with a thick cloth in both hands and picked up the heavy heart container.

"Here. You don't have to do everything alone."

_"Th_ _…thank you_ _…"_

Link reached out and took the heart. He pushed the heart into his chest.

_"Wha- what's happening?!"_

He began to scream, or would have had he a voice to scream with. He pulled his hand away from the heart container, but it was lodged into his chest, seeping its way into his body.

"You can do it, Link!" Ashei cheered.

He took several steps back and clutched at his chest.

_"FIRE! I'M ON FIRE!"_

He fell to his knees and arched his back until he stared blindly up at the ceiling. White light emanated from his chest and faded his body until there was nothing left except a silhouette of light. The light filled the temple until it surrounded the others and forced them to shield their eyes.

"Hold on, Link!" Raven blurted out. "You're almost there!"

The fire burned through his torso and into his arms, legs and head. Beyond the pain of the fire, he could feel his arm resetting itself, the swelling in his eye diminish, and the stiffness in his stomach soften. The burning subsided into stinging, then numbness and finally warmth.

The light began to dim, and the others put their hands down to see Link standing before them. His tunic and armor were mended, and his body was whole and glowing. His sharp blue eyes pierced into everyone as he looked back at them.

"Whoa…"

"We've been waiting for you," Adelz said, approaching Link. "Hero of Time."

_"Thank you_ _…"_

Adelz smiled, turned to Impa and bowed before her.

"With your blessing, my lady, I'd like to forgo my apprenticeship under you for the time being, and accompany the Hero of Time from this point on."

Link whirled toward Adelz, flabbergasted.

_"You wanna what?!"_

Impa squinted at him.

"Before you decide anything," Raven intervened. "Shouldn't we decide what to do about Princess Zelda? And what we should have Link do, as well?"

Impa squeezed the skin above her nose with two fingers, and drew a long, broken sigh.

"Perhaps you are right," she replied, her voice cracking. "Link, at any point when you were with Princess Zelda, did she give you the blessing of the Sage of Time?"

_"Um_ __…_ oh yeah!"_

He nodded his head.

"Good. Her blessing will grant you the power you need to eventually defeat Ganondorf, but for right now, you can barely hold your own against him. Sending you to find Princess Zelda at this point in time would be little more than a wild goose chase and a suicide mission."

Impa reached into her pocket and pulled out a thick, folded parchment. She took big steps over to an overturned pedestal, unfolded the parchment, and laid it flat out. She beckoned to the others with her hand.

"If we want a chance of rescuing Zelda, we're going to have to take a different approach. Listen carefully, Link. In each of Hyrule's provinces, there are temples just like ours. Inside each temple is a sage, just as here in Hyrule Zelda is the Sage of Time. In Labrynna, there is the Fire Temple and the Sage of Fire. In Holodrum, it's the Ice Temple and the Sage of Ice. So on and so forth for all the provinces, except for your homeland, Ordona.

"Link, your first job as the Hero of Time is to visit every province on the continent, make your way to each of the temples, find the sages within, and receive their blessings. With every blessing you receive, you and the Master Sword will grow stronger and synchronize, giving you the power you'll need to defeat Ganondorf. Since Ordona is the closest and doesn't have a temple, it should hypothetically be the easiest to find the sage living there, so that's where you'll start. You'll have a chance to go home and pack any necessary items you'll need on your journey. I suggest you pack light."

_"Got it."_

"Hold on, I'm not finished yet. Have you by any chance heard of the Spirits of Hyrule?"

Link recalled the spirits he met upon pulling the Master Sword from its pedestal, and nodded.

"The Spirits of Hyrule are ancient beings who came to inhabit the sacred water sources found within each province. They can only be reached through divine means by one worthy of entering. Hyrule's sacred spring could only be found by pulling the Master Sword from its pedestal here in the Temple of Time. I assume you've met them?"

Link nodded again.

"Then find the remaining springs and visit the spirits in each one. You'll have to figure out how to do that on your own. Once you've found them, they'll impart the wisdom you need to find Princess Zelda. Got it?"

_"Got it."_

"There's one last thing you'll need to do. In the provinces of Labrynna, Holodrum, and Faron, there are three oracles; demi–goddesses who are said to have been alive since the Era of the World's Creation. I have no idea who they are or where they live exactly. All I can tell you is that the Oracle of Ages resides in Labrynna, the Oracle of Seasons lives in Holodrum, and the Oracle of Secrets is somewhere in Faron. Finding them will prove especially challenging, but if you do, they'll reward you with the courage to continue your journey should you become discouraged.

_"Find the temples, find the sages, find the springs, find the spirits, and find the oracles. That's a lot to keep track of."_

"Don't worry, Link!" Ashei slapped Link's shoulder. "Just think of it as a game ah hide an' seek, only on a continental scale!"

Impa reached her arms around her neck and pulled what looked to Link like a necklace over her head, and gave it to him.

"Take this with you. It's a Pirate's Charm, or at least that's what they used to be called. It's made out of a pressurized and refined Gossip Stone. Each of us has one just like it. With it, you'll be able to communicate with any of us at any time, no matter where your journey takes you."

"We'll be with you every step of the way," Raven smiled as he put his hand on Link's shoulder.

"While you're traveling, we'll be working here in the city to recuperate our losses. We'll be rebuilding our army, removing any dark knights still in town and getting rid of any remaining bokoblins."

"Not to mention fixing this dump of a temple," Ashei added as she kicked a nearby chunk of wood.

"Be warned, Link. This mission is going to be very dangerous. Now that Ganondorf has revealed himself tonight, I'm positive his minions will start causing trouble throughout the land of Hyrule. Keep your eyes open, and be prepared for a fight at any given moment.

Link looked courageously into Impa's eyes, and nodded.

_"I am not afraid."_

"You'll leave at once."

"So soon, Impa?" asked Raven.

"Yes. Ganondorf will not wait to return to full strength, and neither should we. Link, return to your ranch and take whatever you feel you'll need on your journey, then travel to Ordon Village and visit the spring there. I'll inform our correspondent that you'll meet him there. I believe you're already familiar with Rusl."

Impa turned to Adelz, and a saddened look came into her eyes.

"Are you sure this is what you wish?"

"Absolutely."

Impa sighed before replying, "Adelz will accompany you on your journey. I've trained him in the Sheikah ways since he was a boy, so you will find him to be a more than capable ally."

"Good luck, Link," Ashei said as she lifted him suddenly and crushed him in a bear hug.

_"Ack! Thank you. I'll do my best."_

"Take your family and leave the city at once."

_"_ _…Malon_ _…"_

Link moved away from the others and searched until he found Malon. She sat in a corner by herself with her arms wrapped around her knees. Water flowed from her red eyes and clung to her lashes. Link moved toward Malon and sat down in front of her, but she turned away.

"Leave me alone," she muttered.

Suddenly, his arms were around her shoulders.

"Let me go!"

Malon struggled to get out of his hug, beating against his shoulders, but she was no match for his tight squeeze and gave up. She buried her face into his chest and wept. Her arms went around his back.

"I'm sorry!" she bawled. Her words came out in between her cries. "You didn't trust Rio, but I didn't listen because I was angry at you, and then he hurt you and I thought you were gonna die, and I'll never forgive myself!"

_"It's okay_ _…"_

Link's arms tightened around her, and they sat that way for a full five minutes before Malon's cries finally tapered off into dry hiccups. She saw the look in Link's eyes, and knew what he wanted to ask.

"Ah…I think I'm okay now…"

He smiled and held out his hand to help her stand. She avoided his gaze, but took his hand anyway.

"You have your mission, Link," Impa reminded him. "Find the temples of the sages, find the springs of the spirits, and find the oracles."

_"You have my word."_

* * *

With Adelz by his side, Link accompanied Malon back to Telma's Tavern and struggled the whole way, trying to think of what to tell Talon. What he found there threw every idea he'd had out the window. The Lon Lon Ranch carriage and horses were already set up and Epona was standing beside, digging her front hoof anxiously between the cobblestone. When she saw Link, she broke into a gallop toward him. She stopped in time to keep from running him down and whacked his shoulder with her head, snorting in displeasure. He responded to her miffed gesture by running his fingers through her mane when Talon came out of the tavern and mounted the carriage without a word. Malon took her seat next to her father, Link saddled up on Epona, and Adelz sat precariously on top of the carriage. With a smile from Telma, they rode down the empty streets in silence and left the city. The ride back to Ordona was uncomfortable and quiet.

"Adelz," said Malon nervously, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you…for talking to Link, I mean. Back in the temple."

"Of course."

"I would have, it's just that…"

"I know. It's all right."

Quiet settled on them again, until an abrupt snoring pierced it loudly. Malon looked over and saw Link's face plastered into Epona's mane. His hands had fallen from the reigns and he was dead to the world.

"Idiot. Even though he got that full heart container, he still worked himself too hard."

"He put up a good fight," Adelz responded. "He deserves to rest."

"I guess so… You know, if he could, he'd tell you that you don't have to go with him."

"I want to."

"…He's really leaving, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"I… I'm scared."

"Do not be afraid. Link has more strength and courage in him than we could ever comprehend. It doesn't seem so now, but with training and experience he will become the Hero he was meant to be. Until then, I intend to watch over him."

"Is that why you're going with him? You're worried, too aren't you?"

"It is because I have faith in him that I go with him. Great people do not become great on their own."

"Thank you… Adelz."

"'Adelz' is nothing more than an alias. If you don't mind, I'd prefer if you and your father called me by my true name."

"What name is that?"

He smiled again.

"Shiek."

* * *

_**Would you like to save your game?** _

_**_–►_ ** _ _**Yes** _

_**No** _

* * *

I was one of the unlucky children growing up. My mother thought (and still thinks) that video games were a waste of time and money, and so we had none when I was a kid, save for a few educational computer games for Windows 95 and the Game Boy my brother saved his allowance for. Needless to say, I missed out on the classic era of Nintendo, including the N64 and its beloved releases.

I'd played  _Zelda_ games before and was well aware of the series, but the first time I ever played  _Ocarina of Time_ was in 2011, on an emulator on my computer. I recall reading forums, prior to playing, that touted  _Ocarina of Time_ as not only the best game in the  _Zelda_ series, but the best game ever made. With some spare time on my hands, I decided to stop wondering whether the praise was as deserving as everyone claimed.

While I lost out on the wide-eyed wonderful experience that so many gamers had as children, one which I envy greatly, I still got a certain childlike wonder from playing the game. I tagged alongside Link as he began his quest, made friends, saw sights, fought battles, chilled by the fishing pond, lost friends, experienced sadness and pain, underwent trials and hardships, and finally embraced his destiny and defeated Ganondorf. It wasn't long before I was hooked, and by the time the credits rolled, I had only one thought in my mind:

_"This is the greatest game ever made."_

That was when my love for  _The Legend of Zelda_ really began. Better late than never.

After playing the game, as I went about my days, I began dreaming about alternate scenarios that could've taken place within the game.  _"What if this character had done this?"_ or  _"What if this happened instead?"_ This unconscious train of thought stayed with me for months, and the one recurring thought that stayed with me was:

_"What if Shiek had traveled with Link?"_

Shiek was, and still is, my favorite character in Ocarina of Time (aside from Link). As the game progressed, her words of wisdom which guided me throughout my adventures slowly became heartfelt words of advice from a good friend. Truth be told, I was a little heartbroken when she revealed herself as Zelda in disguise. I preferred her as her own unique character with her own personality without residing in Zelda's shadow, and so I wanted to express that desire some way.

As more time went on, crossovers began taking over my brain. I began to wonder what would happen if one game took place within the realm of another, imagining that instead of each game following the same timeline, they took place at the same time interchangeably. The end result was all the games melded into one big –and hopefully good– story, and the rest is history.

This is only the first of seven(?) books that I plan to write for this story. So much has happened since I began this tremendous endeavor, but it's just begun. Thank you for sticking with me, and I hope you look forward to the next book:

_**The Legend of Zelda: The Last Hero** _

_Book Two: Labrynna_


	22. Bonus: Talos and the Wolfos

Lon Lon Ranch is in the Ordona Province. It sits in the Hyrule Plains, some distance north of the provincial border of the same name. It's autumn, the flowers are gone and the trees are asleep. The sun burns tepid. The green fields have turned to amber, and the leaves have turned scarlet and gold. Crisp winds cut through the plains, and with it comes the promise of rain from the mountains.

"I hope it rains."

"You just wanna run through the puddles like a weirdo."

"Shut up!"

"Malon, don't you be mean to Link."

"Yes, Daddy."

The red sun rose late into the morning on the ranch. Clouds dotted the sky above, but a dark heap covered the northern mountains. Talon squatted over a sawhorse, pushing a block plane back and forth across a thick lumber board. Shavings peeled out of the lumber and drifted down to the dirt. A six-year old Malon, and a four-year old Link sat on the edge of the pasture, watching the cows graze.

"Well, I hope it doesn't rain," Malon continued.

"Why?" asked Link.

"I want it to stay nice and warm, just a little longer before it gets cold. It would be if there was one summer day left before winter started."

"I guess..."

Talon looked up from his sawhorse to the north range. The wind bit at his face.

"You may both get your wish. That storm'll probably reach us by this time tomorrow."

"That means we can play my games today, and your games tomorrow! How does that sound, Link?"

"Yeah!"

"Hold it, you two. Are you done with your lessons?"

"...Yes," Malon finally answered. Link gave no response.

"Don' lie to your old man, girl. You two go up an' finish yer lessons first."

"Aww, but they take forever and they're so boring!"

"Don't whine at me, or I'll give you even more! Just cause we live on a ranch, don't mean my kids won't get as good an education as I can give."

"Ugh, fine!"

Malon stomped into the house, banging the door behind her.

"Don't slam the door, will ya?! Good grief, girl."

Talon went back to his sawhorse, stopped, and looked back up. Link stared at the mountains.

"You okay, boy?"

"Do you…really think it will rain?"

"Sure as I've been running this ranch for ten years. I'll get you a horse of your own if it don't."

"Really?"

"You bet!"

Link smiled and turned back to the mountains.

"You'll have plenty of time to appreciate the scenery later, boy," Talon said gently. "Go up and get your lessons done with Malon. You'll finish 'em a lot faster if you two work together."

"Yes sir." Link walked toward the house and opened the door, but stopped halfway, staring inside.

"What's wrong, son?"

"I thought I heard― never mind." He shook his head and stepped inside, closing the door behind him gently.

"Weird kid. Good, but weird."

Talon returned again to his work on the sawhorse. Another biting wind cut into face.

"What the―" Talon looked up from his work. "East wind? Where'd that come from?"

He turned toward the direction of the wind, and found he was staring into the Ordona Woods.

"That's odd. The wind don't come from the forest this time a year."

He watched the trees for a moment, then shrugged and bent back over the sawhorse. He hovered over it with the plane, but didn't move.

"It's too quiet."

Talon dropped the plane, ran to the house, and ripped the door open.

"Kids!" He called up the stairs. "You okay up there?"

"Yeah dad! We're fine!"

"Ya sure?"

"Yes sir!"

"…Well, all right!"

He closed the door and walked back uneasily. The cows and horses stopped grazing, and one by one, laid comfortably in the cool grass. The cuccos stopped pecking and huddled together at the far end of the pasture.

 _"The boy wishes for rain,"_  said a soft female voice.  _"Rain he will have."_

"Who said that?!"

Talon turned to the sound of the voice, but saw no one.

"Whoever you are, you're trespassin'! Show yourself!"

_"Please forgive me…"_

Talon whirled around and froze. A golden creature was bent forward and sniffing the nose of one of the young mares. The horse sniffed back and nickered in consent. The two rubbed faces.

_"Thank you…"_

Talon adjusted his eyes and recognize the creature's silhouette. His breathing grew shallow when he realized a wolfos was on his property.

"GIT!" He roared, flailing his arms and running toward it. "GO ON, GIT!"

The wolfos looked at Talon with eyes slightly open, flicking its ears. It rose from its haunches and started a slow stride toward the far end of the ranch.

"That's right, git off of m―!"

Talon's mouth gaped when the wolfos' body began to fade. The light shining from its body grew dimmer and dimmer, until it disappeared and was gone as soon as it had arrived.

"What in the…"

"Daddy!"

Malon and Link came running toward Talon from the house.

"We finished our lessons! Daddy! Can you hear me?"

"Wha― Oh, yes darlin'. Dang, you two must be gettin' smarter to finish your lessons so fast."

"Daddy, don't―"

Malon stopped to look at one of her sheets of paper.

"Daddy, don't 'pay…trun…ize, us."

"Patronize? Now what in God's name do you mean by that?"

"It was one of our vocab words, sir."

"That's not what I meant. Why're you sayin' I'm patronizing you?"

"Because, Daddy. You sent us to do our lessons almost three hours ago."

"Three hours?!"

"They were difficult lessons, sir."

Talon looked away from the children and saw that the animals had returned to their grazing, and that the sun had risen into high noon.

"Darlin', what time is it?"

"It's 1:30, Daddy."

"1:30?! But how?!"

"That's what the clock in the house said before we came out here. Did you take a nap while we were doing our lessons, Daddy?"

"Maybe that's it," Link nodded.

"A… a nap?"

"Yeah, Daddy. Remember, there were times you forgot what time it was, cause you were taking a nap? Maybe this is one of those times."

"Yeah…that musta been it."

"Sir, since we finished our lessons, can we go see the animals?"

Talon nodded silenty, and took the papers from Malon and Link as they raced shrieking nto the fields. He ignored their happy screams instead of telling them 'ta keep it down.' He didn't feel his feet moving him back to the barn, where he opened the bay doors and sat on the first haystack he could find.

"It musta been a dream. It's the only way it coulda happened…That's gotta be it."

He sat on the stack with his face cupped in his hands. A spider scurried by, and he watched it run across the dirty floorboards. It stopped in front of his haystack, paused, and followed its walls around the corner until it was out of sight.

"But…I don't remember falling asleep. I was workin' on the sawhorse, then I'm chasin' a wolfos outta the field, and next thing I know, it's three hours later? That don't make sense at all, even if it was a dream. Ain't no dream like I ever had before, either.

"Maybe… maybe I just need more sleep or somethin'. I have been kind of tired lately. It's hard runnin' this ranch by myself, and it ain't gonna get easier till those kids are old enough to start helpin' out. But… I wasn't feeling tired this morning. Why would I go and nap in the middle of the day when I weren't even feeling tired?

"That dream couldn't have been a normal dream. There was more to it than that. God, look at me, I've started talking to myself! I'm goin' nuts! Gotta get my mind off of this. Gotta get back ta work."

Talon returned outside to the sawhorse, found where he'd dropped the sawhorse, and went back to work. Link and Malon chased cuccos across the pasture while he watched them from a distance.

A few hours went by before Talon finally stopped at the sawhorse and wiped the sweat from his brow. A fat water drop plopped on his bald head, so he glanced up and gave a surprised yelp.

"What in bloody hell?!"

The sky was slate grey. Not a spot of blue could be found.

"Where did that come from?!"

"Daddy," Malon stood beside him. "I think it's gonna rain. We better get the animals in."

"Ah, right! You and Link chase the cuccos into the house while I get the cows an' horses loaded up in the barn. Hurry, now."

The animals were pulled and chased into their homes with little time to spare. The rain was plummeting and soaking through Talon's clothes when he led the last cow into the barn and made a dash for the house. Link and Malon quickly closed the door behind him as he jumped inside.

"Whew!"

"Dad, we're hungry."

"You are? That's right, you didn't get any lunch, did ya?"

"No, sir."

"Alrighty then. Let's see if I can't whip somethin' up."

An early dinner was made and devoured. Afterward, Talon and his two kids were left to deal with rainy day boredom. Talon sat in a heavy recliner and started chipping at a woodblock. Malon found a box of paper dolls hiding under her bed. She brought the box into the living room, and spread the dolls out across the floor, putting outfits together and immediately taking them apart.

"Link," she said. "I'm bored. Come play dolls with me."

When Link gave no answer, she turned to look at him. He sat on the edge of a chair in front of the window, staring outside and refusing to look away.

"Link, you've been staring out that window since dinner. What's wrong with you?"

He still gave no answer, so Malon huffed and returned to her dolls. Talon's knife chipped, Malon's paper fluttered, the second hand of the clock ticked louder than normal, and the rain fell.

"Sir?"

Malon and Talon looked up at Link's first word in over an hour.

"Can I go outside? Please?"

The words from Talon's dream returned to him, and he trembled.

_"'The boy wishes for rain. Rain he will have.'"_

"You know what? Go ahead."

Before Malon could get a word in, Link leapt from the chair. He raced down the stairs, ripped the front door open, slammed it behind him, and was outside in seconds.

"Good grief, was it with y'all slammin' the doors?"

"Will he be okay, Daddy? He went out barefoot. What if he catches a bad cold, like Mommy did?"

"He's strong enough to fight off a cold if it comes to that. I wasn't gonna keep him locked up for much longer, anyway. He was gonna go outside, with or without my permission."

"Would he have gotten in trouble if he'd gone outside without asking?"

"Maybe, but it wouldn't have mattered."

"Why not?"

"That boy loves rain more than he's afraid of getting punished."

Link felt his heart fill to the brim as he jumped over and in puddles, spinning with arms wide open. He laughed, fell flat on his back, and grinned as the rain splashed onto his face. He tried to run between the drops, failed, and didn't care.

He stopped his playing at one point to gaze into the sky. He smiled, closed his eyes, stretched out his arms, and sunk his wet toes into the mud. He pretended to be a forest tree, rooted to the spot, and imagined having deep roots in the soil, thirstily drinking up the water. He pretended his fingers were leaves that caught the droplets on their surfaces, and dropped the water only when it got too heavy.

Malon peered out the window and watched him shyly as he played.

"Whatcha doin' over there, Malon?"

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Darlin'?"

"Do you think…Link loves us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I know he isn't my blood brother, but he's still my brother. And your son. At least that's how I feel."

"That's how I feel, too."

"Do you think he thinks so, too?"

"Of course he does."

"Do you think he loves us as much as he loves rain?"

"You can't compare apples and oranges, darlin'."

"Apples and oranges?"

Malon's angry frown was so exaggerated Talon couldn't help laughing.

"You can't compare things that don't have nothing to do with the other. Link loves the rain, and Link loves us. He can't love one more than the other, cause it don't work like that. People love things, like rain, way different than they love people.

"Besides, even if he could love rain more than people, having all the rain in the world wouldn't make up for having nobody in the world to love you back."

Malon's frown dissipated, and she looked back out the window.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"i love you too, darlin'."

Sitting on the roof of the house, the invisible wolfos listened in on Talon and his daughter. At his words, it gave a mournful whine. It curled into a ball, and with tears falling from its eyes, watched Link as he played in the rain.

That night, when everyone had gone to bed, Talon tossed and turned in his sleep. The voice of the wolfos called to him in his dreams over and over.

_Please…I beg of you…Meet me in the forest…You will find me there…_


End file.
